Examined the independent effects of positive and negative social exchanges on positive and negative dimensions of older adults' psychological health in a structural equation model using cross-sectional and short-term longitudinal data. Two hundred seventy-seven individuals older than 65 (mean age 74.3) completed a mail questionnaire that included questions about social exchanges, perceived control, coping, and affect. Approximately 6 weeks later, 200 of the participants were randomly selected and invited to complete a second survey; 154 responded and completed follow-up assessments an average of 13 weeks after baseline. In cross-sectional analyses, positive exchanges predicted positive affect, and negative exchanges predicted negative affect. In longitudinal analyses, however, negative exchanges predicted both positive and negative affect, whereas positive exchanges were unrelated to either outcome. It is concluded that positive social interactions may have an immediate impact on positive feelings, but negative social interactions have a longer lasting impact, at least over a time interval of several months. The present study avoids some methodological issues that may have introduced a bias in previous studies in favor of negativity effects.