In the literature, there are few and conflicting reports regarding age-related changes in adult mentalizing abilities: whereas Happe et al. (1998, Developmental Psychology, 34, 358-362) showed better performances of elderly compared with young subjects in an advanced theory of mind (ToM) task, Mayor et al. (2002, British Journal of Psychology, 93, 465-485) and Sullivan and Ruffmann (2004, British Journal of Psychology, 95(Pt 1), 1-18) found an age-related decline. Former studies addressing the issue compared young to elderly subjects and did not investigate earlier changes in middle-aged adults. To shed light on changes in ToM skills along adulthood, the authors used the revised version of the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test" (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42, 241-251) to compare four groups of people of different ages covering the whole span of adult life. The authors found aged-related decline in ToM skills as early as the fifth decade of life. Awareness of the age-related changes in adult mentalizing is important to differentiate normal aging effects from ToM impairments due to neuropsychiatric diseases.

Age-related decline in mentalizing skills across adult life span / M., Pardini; Nichelli, Paolo Frigio. - In: EXPERIMENTAL AGING RESEARCH. - ISSN 0361-073X. - STAMPA. - 35:1(2009), pp. 98-106. [10.1080/03610730802545259]

Age-related decline in mentalizing skills across adult life span

NICHELLI, Paolo Frigio
2009

Abstract

In the literature, there are few and conflicting reports regarding age-related changes in adult mentalizing abilities: whereas Happe et al. (1998, Developmental Psychology, 34, 358-362) showed better performances of elderly compared with young subjects in an advanced theory of mind (ToM) task, Mayor et al. (2002, British Journal of Psychology, 93, 465-485) and Sullivan and Ruffmann (2004, British Journal of Psychology, 95(Pt 1), 1-18) found an age-related decline. Former studies addressing the issue compared young to elderly subjects and did not investigate earlier changes in middle-aged adults. To shed light on changes in ToM skills along adulthood, the authors used the revised version of the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test" (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42, 241-251) to compare four groups of people of different ages covering the whole span of adult life. The authors found aged-related decline in ToM skills as early as the fifth decade of life. Awareness of the age-related changes in adult mentalizing is important to differentiate normal aging effects from ToM impairments due to neuropsychiatric diseases.
2009
35
1
98
106
Age-related decline in mentalizing skills across adult life span / M., Pardini; Nichelli, Paolo Frigio. - In: EXPERIMENTAL AGING RESEARCH. - ISSN 0361-073X. - STAMPA. - 35:1(2009), pp. 98-106. [10.1080/03610730802545259]
M., Pardini; Nichelli, Paolo Frigio
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11380/623116
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