Sources of cognitive conflict and their relevance to Theory of Mind proficiency in healthy ageing. A preregistered study.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Foyzul Rahman ◽  
Sabrina Javed ◽  
Ian Apperly ◽  
Peter Hansen ◽  
Carol Holland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Response Speed ◽  
Cognitive Conflict ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Outcome Knowledge

Age-related decline in Theory of Mind (ToM) may be due to waning executive control, which is necessary for resolving conflict when reasoning about others’ mental states. We assessed how older (OA; n=50) versus younger adults (YA; n=50) were affected by three theoretically relevant sources of conflict within ToM: competing Self-Other perspectives; competing cued locations and outcome knowledge. We examined which best accounted for age-related difficulty with ToM. Our data show unexpected similarity between age groups when representing a belief incongruent with one’s own. Individual differences in attention and motor response speed best explained the degree of conflict experienced through conflicting Self-Other perspectives. However, OAs were disproportionately affected by managing conflict between cued locations. Age and spatial working memory were most relevant for predicting the magnitude of conflict elicited by conflicting cued locations. We suggest that previous studies may have underestimated OA’s ToM proficiency by including unnecessary conflict in ToM tasks.

scholarly journals Sources of Cognitive Conflict and Their Relevance to Theory-of-Mind Proficiency in Healthy Aging: A Preregistered Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 095679762110178
Author(s):  
Foyzul Rahman ◽  
Klaus Kessler ◽  
Ian A. Apperly ◽  
Peter C. Hansen ◽  
Sabrina Javed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Response Speed ◽  
Cognitive Conflict ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Outcome Knowledge

Age-related decline in theory of mind (ToM) may be due to waning executive control, which is necessary for resolving conflict when reasoning about other individuals’ mental states. We assessed how older ( n = 50) and younger ( n = 50) adults were affected by three theoretically relevant sources of conflict within ToM: competing self-other perspectives, competing cued locations, and outcome knowledge. We examined which best accounted for age-related difficulty with ToM. Our data show unexpected similarity between age groups when people are representing a belief incongruent with their own. Individual differences in attention and response speed best explained the degree of conflict experienced through incompatible self-other perspectives. However, older adults were disproportionately affected by managing conflict between cued locations. Age and spatial working memory were most relevant for predicting the magnitude of conflict elicited by conflicting cued locations. We suggest that previous studies may have underestimated older adults’ ToM proficiency by including unnecessary conflict in ToM tasks.

Autobiographical Memory Specificity Predicts Social Problem-Solving Ability in Old and Young Adults

2007 ◽  
Vol 60 (9) ◽  
pp. 1275-1288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Beaman ◽  
Dolores Pushkar ◽  
Sarah Etezadi ◽  
Dorothea Bye ◽  
Michael Conway
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Social Problem Solving ◽  
Cued Recall ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Memory Specificity ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Problem Solving Task

Based on recent research with young, depressed adults, age-related cognitive declines and decreased autobiographical specificity were hypothesized to predict poorer social problem-solving ability in older than in younger healthy adults. Priming autobiographical memory (ABM) was hypothesized to improve social problem-solving performance for older adults. Subsequent to cognitive tests, old and young participants’ specific ABMs were tested using a cued recall task, followed by a social problem-solving task. The order of the tasks was counterbalanced to test for a priming effect. Autobiographical specificity was related to cognitive ability and predicted social problem-solving ability for both age groups. However, priming of ABM did not improve social problem-solving ability for older or younger adults. This study provides support for the hypothesis that autobiographical memory serves a directive function across the life-span.

scholarly journals Cognitive and affective Theory of Mind in adolescence: developmental aspects and associated neuropsychological variables

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edith Theresa Gabriel ◽  
Raphaela Oberger ◽  
Michaela Schmoeger ◽  
Matthias Deckert ◽  
Stefanie Vockh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Late Adolescents ◽  
Affective Processes ◽  
Neuropsychological Tasks ◽  
Neuropsychological Variables

Abstract Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to represent and attribute mental states to oneself and others. So far, research regarding ToM processing across adolescence is scarce. Existing studies either yield inconsistent results or did not or not thoroughly investigate aspects like higher order ToM and associated neuropsychological variables which the current study tried to address. 643 typically developing early, middle, and late adolescents (age groups 13–14; 15–16; 17–18) performed cognitive and affective ToM tasks as well as neuropsychological tasks tapping the cognitive or affective domain. Regarding both ToM types, 15- to 16-year-olds and 17- to 18-year-olds outperformed 13- to 14-year-olds, whereas females were superior regarding cognitive ToM. Across adolescence, cognitive and affective ToM correlated with attention and affective intelligence, whereas working memory, language comprehension, and figural intelligence additionally correlated with cognitive ToM. In early adolescence, attention correlated with both ToM types, whereas cognitive ToM further correlated with language comprehension and affective ToM with verbal intelligence, verbal fluency, and verbal flexibility. In middle and late adolescence, affective intelligence correlated with both ToM types, whereas cognitive ToM additionally correlated with working memory, language comprehension, and figural intelligence. The current study shows a developmental step regarding cognitive and affective ToM in middle adolescence as well as gender differences in cognitive ToM processing. Associations between neuropsychological variables and ToM processing were shown across adolescence and within age groups. Results give new insights into social cognition in adolescence and are well supported by neuroscientific and neurobiological studies regarding ToM and the integration of cognitive and affective processes. Graphic abstract

scholarly journals ANGER, LOVE, SADNESS: DO EMOTION WORDS HAVE THE SAME SEMANTIC MEANING ACROSS AGE-GROUPS?

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S841-S842
Author(s):  
Madeline J Nichols ◽  
Jennifer A Bellingtier ◽  
Frances Buttelmann
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Semantic Meaning ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Emotion Words ◽  
Emotion Word ◽  
Age Related

Abstract Every day we use emotion words to describe our experiences, but past research finds that the meanings of these words can vary. Furthermore, historical shifts in language use and experiential knowledge of the emotions may contribute to age-differences in what these emotion words convey. We examined age-related differences in the valence, arousal, and expression connoted by the words anger, love, and sadness. We predicted age-related differences in the semantic meanings of the words would emerge such that older adults would more clearly differentiate the positivity/negativity of the words, whereas younger adults would report higher endorsement for the conveyed arousal and expression. Participants included American and German older adults (N=61; mean age=68.98) and younger adults (N=77; mean age=20.77). Using the GRID instrument (Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, 2013), they rated each emotion word for its valence, arousal, and expression when used by a speaker of the participant’s native language. Across emotions and dimensions, older adults were generally more moderate in their understanding of emotion words. For example, German older adults rated anger and sadness as suggesting the speaker felt less bad and more good than the younger adults. American older adults rated love as connoting the speaker felt more bad and less good than younger adults. Arousal ratings were higher for German younger, as opposed to older, adults. Cultural differences were most pronounced for sadness such that German participants gave more moderate answers than American participants. Overall, our research suggests that there are age-related differences in the understanding of emotion words.

Comprehension of Explicit and Implicit Warning Information in Younger and Older Adults

2001 ◽  
Vol 45 (20) ◽  
pp. 1474-1478
Author(s):  
Holly E. Hancock ◽  
Arthur D. Fisk ◽  
Wendy A. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Text Comprehension ◽  
Safety Information ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Comprehensive Investigation ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Product Usage ◽  
Implicit Information ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Safe Product

Successful comprehension of warning text necessitates an ability to understand both explicitly stated safety information, as well as information about hazards and safe product usage that may be implied. Comprehension level for this type of text may vary across age groups as a function of normal age-related changes that may be experienced in memory and text comprehension in general. To date, there has been no comprehensive investigation of how well younger and older adults understand explicit and implicit information associated with actual product warnings. In the current study, 43 older and 42 younger adults read text from consumer product warnings and then rated the truth/falsity of statements containing information that was either explicitly stated or implied by the warnings. The results suggest both older and younger adults are able to recognize information that is explicitly associated with an actual product warning. However, they are less able to recognize information that can be inferred from warnings. These data also suggest that older adults perceive themselves to understand consumer warnings fairly well.

Age Affects Responses on the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ) by Adults with Minimal Audiometric Loss

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (02) ◽  
pp. 081-091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Banh ◽  
Gurjit Singh ◽  
M. Kathleen Pichora-Fuller
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Clinically Normal ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Listening In Noise ◽  
Psychology Course

Background: Age-related declines in auditory and cognitive processing may contribute to the difficulties with listening in noise that are often reported by older adults. Such difficulties are reported even by those who have relatively good audiograms that could be considered “normal” for their age (ISO 7029-2000 [ISO, 2000]). The Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ; Gatehouse and Noble, 2004) is a questionnaire developed to measure a listener's self-reported ability to hear in a variety of everyday situations, such as those that are challenging for older adults, and it can provide insights into the possible contributions of auditory and cognitive factors to their listening difficulties. The SSQ has been shown to be a sensitive and reliable questionnaire to detect benefits associated with the use of different hearing technologies and potentially other forms of intervention. Establishing how age-matched listeners with audiograms “normal” for their age rate the items on the SSQ could enable an extension of its use in audiological assessment and in setting rehabilitative goals. Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to investigate how younger and older adults who passed audiometric screening and who had thresholds considered to be “normal” for their age responded on the SSQ. It was also of interest to compare these results to those reported previously for older listeners with hearing loss in an attempt to tease out the relative effects of age and hearing loss. Study Sample: The SSQ was administered to 48 younger (mean age = 19 yr; SD = 1.0) and 48 older (mean age = 70 yr, SD = 4.1) adults with clinically normal audiometric thresholds below 4 kHz. The younger adults were recruited through an introductory psychology course, and the older adults were volunteers from the local community. Data Collection and Analysis: Both age groups completed the SSQ. The differences between the groups were analyzed. Correlations were used to compare the pattern of results across items for the two age groups in the present study and to assess the relationship between SSQ scores and objective measures of hearing. Comparisons were also made to published results for older adults with hearing loss. Results: The pattern of reported difficulty across items was similar for both age groups, but younger adults had significantly higher scores than older adults on 42 of the 46 items. On average, younger adults scored 8.8 (SD = 0.6) out of 10 and older adults scored 7.7 (SD = 1.2) out of 10. By comparison, scores of 5.5 (SD = 1.9) have been reported for older adults (mean age = 71 yr, SD = 8.1) with moderate hearing loss (Gatehouse and Noble, 2004). Conclusions: By establishing the best scores that could reasonably be expected from younger and older adults with “normal” hearing thresholds, these results provide clinicians with information that should assist them in setting realistic targets for interventions for adults of different ages.

scholarly journals Giving vs. losing: age differences in decisions about charitable donations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Sparrow
Keyword(s):  
Age Differences ◽  
Intertemporal Choice ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Financial Decision ◽  
Gains And Losses ◽  
Effect Of Age ◽  
Related Increase

In addition to making decisions about gains and losses that affect only ourselves, often in life we make decisions that benefit others. Research on lifespan changes in motivation suggests that altruistic motives become stronger with age. However, few studies have explored the effect of age on decisions that affect others. The current study used a realistic financial decision making task involving choices for gains, losses, and donations. Each decision involved an intertemporal choice, in which the participant selected either a smaller-sooner or a larger-later option that could affect their bonus payout. Participants included 36 healthy younger adults (M = 25.1 years) and 36 healthy older adults (M = 70.4 years). Both age groups chose more larger-later donations than larger-later losses, but the magnitude of this effect was amplified in older relative to younger adults. These findings suggest that intertemporal choices may be sensitive to an age-related increase in altruistic motivation

scholarly journals Age-Related Differences in Cardiac Autonomic Control at Resting State and in Response to Mental Stress

Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2218
Author(s):  
Bernhard Grässler ◽  
Milos Dordevic ◽  
Sabine Darius ◽  
Lukas Vogelmann ◽  
Fabian Herold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Recovery Phase ◽  
Autonomic Control ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Cardiac Autonomic Control ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Mean Heart Rate

Our goal was to investigate age-related differences in cardiac autonomic control by means of heart rate variability (HRV). For this purpose, 30 healthy older and 34 younger adults were studied during three different conditions: (i) during resting state, (ii) during the execution of two cognitive tasks, and (iii) during the subsequent recovery phase. Mean heart rate and HRV parameters were higher in younger compared to older participants during all three conditions. While the mean heart rate was higher in older adults during the cognitive tasks compared to the resting state, it did not change in younger adults. In contrast, the change in HRV during the three conditions did not differ between age groups. Our results suggest decreased parasympathetic activity reflecting declined cardiac autonomic control with aging. In conclusion, HRV analysis could support the assessment of normal age-related alterations in cardiac autonomic control at resting state and in response to cognitive demands.

scholarly journals Event Centrality of Positive and Negative Autobiographical Memories in Older Adulthood

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 712-712
Author(s):  
Justina Pociunaite ◽  
Tabea Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Openness To Experience ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Middle Aged Adults ◽  
Positive Memories

Abstract Centrality of an event (CE) is a characteristic denoting how important a life experience is to one’s identity. Usually, positive memories are more central than negative ones in the community samples. Nevertheless, there is emerging evidence showing substantial individual differences in how one perceives CE. Especially regarding age, one could expect pronounced differences due to age-related changes in personal goals. In this study, we investigated how older adults differ from young and middle-aged adults. Apart from age, we tested whether personality traits such as neuroticism and openness to experience influence the CE ratings among age groups. The sample comprised of 363 German participants, age ranging from 18 to 89 (M=49.57, SD=17.087), 67.2 % of the sample were women. Using multilevel analysis, we found the CE of positive memories to be higher in all age groups. The CE of positive events significantly differed for older adults compared to younger adults but not to the middle-aged group. With respect to personality, neuroticism had an impact only on the CE of negative memories in younger and middle-aged adults. For older adults, neither neuroticism, nor openness to experience had an impact on CE ratings. This shows that while older adults significantly differ from younger adults in the CE of positive memories, other individual differences characteristics do not have an impact on the way older adults perceive memories as central to their identity.

scholarly journals Giving vs. losing: age differences in decisions about charitable donations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Sparrow
Keyword(s):  
Age Differences ◽  
Intertemporal Choice ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Financial Decision ◽  
Gains And Losses ◽  
Effect Of Age ◽  
Related Increase

In addition to making decisions about gains and losses that affect only ourselves, often in life we make decisions that benefit others. Research on lifespan changes in motivation suggests that altruistic motives become stronger with age. However, few studies have explored the effect of age on decisions that affect others. The current study used a realistic financial decision making task involving choices for gains, losses, and donations. Each decision involved an intertemporal choice, in which the participant selected either a smaller-sooner or a larger-later option that could affect their bonus payout. Participants included 36 healthy younger adults (M = 25.1 years) and 36 healthy older adults (M = 70.4 years). Both age groups chose more larger-later donations than larger-later losses, but the magnitude of this effect was amplified in older relative to younger adults. These findings suggest that intertemporal choices may be sensitive to an age-related increase in altruistic motivation

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