The Aging of the Social Mind - Differential Effects on Components of Social Understanding

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Research in younger adults dissociates cognitive from affective facets of social information processing, rather than promoting a monolithic view of social intelligence. An influential theory on adult development suggests differential effects of aging on cognitive and affective functions. However, this dissociation has not been directly tested in the social domain. Employing a newly developed naturalistic paradigm that disentangles facets of the social mind within an individual, we show multi-directionality of age-related differences. Specifically, components of the socio-cognitive route - Theory of Mind and metacognition - are impaired in older relative to younger adults. Nevertheless, these social capacities are still less affected by aging than factual reasoning and metacognition regarding non-social content. Importantly, the socio-affective route is well-functioning, with no decline in empathy and elevated compassion in the elderly. These findings contribute to an integrated theory of age-related change in social functioning and inform interventions tailored to specifically reinstate socio-cognitive skills in old age.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number11046
Number of pages8
JournalScientific Reports
Volume7
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 8 Sept 2017
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85028964446
ORCID /0000-0001-8409-5390/work/142254918

Keywords

Keywords

  • Aging of the social mind, differential effects, social understanding