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Does performance on theory of mind tasks decline in old age?
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Maylor, Elizabeth A., Moulson, Jane M., Muncer, Ann-Marie and Taylor, Louise A. (2002) Does performance on theory of mind tasks decline in old age? British Journal of Psychology, Vol.93 (No.4). pp. 465-485. doi:10.1348/000712602761381358 ISSN 0007-1269.
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Abstract
In the first reported study of theory of mind (ToM; the ability to attribute mental states) in old age, Happe, Winner, and Brownell (1998) observed better performance on ToM tasks in older participants (mean age 73 years) than in young participants (mean age 21 years). We present two experiments exploring the generality of this finding. Experiment I compared young, young-old, and old-old age groups (mean ages 19, 67, and 8 1 years, respectively) on their understanding of ToM stories both with and without the need to remember the information, and control studies that did not require the ability to attribute mental states. For ToM stories with a memory load, the young group performed significantly better than both the young-old and old-old groups; without a memory load, the young and young-old groups performed significantly better than the old-old group. In Experiment 2, young and old-old age groups (mean ages 21 and 81 years, respectively) were compared on their understanding of ToM and control stories without the need to remember the information. Again, the young group performed significantly better than the old-old group on ToM stories. There were no significant age differences in performance on the control stories in either experiment. The age deficit on ToM stories remained significant after taking account of measures of vocabulary and processing speed (Experiments I and 2), and measures of executive functioning (Experiment 2).
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology | ||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Psychology | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Philosophy of mind, Human information processing -- Age factors , Cognition in old age, Ability, Influence of age on | ||||
Journal or Publication Title: | British Journal of Psychology | ||||
Publisher: | British Psychological Society | ||||
ISSN: | 0007-1269 | ||||
Official Date: | November 2002 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Vol.93 | ||||
Number: | No.4 | ||||
Number of Pages: | 21 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 465-485 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1348/000712602761381358 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published |
Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge
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