Beyond false belief: theory of mind in young, young-old, and old-old adults.

Theory of mind (ToM) refers to humans' ability to recognize the existence of mental states, such as beliefs, emotions, and desires. The literature on ToM in aging and on the relationship between ToM and other cognitive functions, like executive functions, is not homogenous. The aim of the present study was to explore the course of ToM and to investigate the role of working memory, inhibition, and language on the possible age differences in ToM.

Longitudinal effects of theory of mind on later peer relations: the role of prosocial behavior.

Children's peer relations represent a key aspect of school adjustment. However, little is known about their social-cognitive precursors. To address this gap, the authors followed 70 children across the transition to primary school.

Reading minds: the relation between children's mental state knowledge and their metaknowledge about reading.

The relation between children's mental state knowledge and metaknowledge about reading was examined in 2 studies. In Study 1, 196 children (mean age = 9 years) were tested for verbal ability (VA), metaknowledge about reading, and mental state words in a story task. In Study 2, the results of Study 1 were extended by using a cross-lagged design and by investigating older children (N = 71, mean ages = 10 years at Time 1 and 11 years at Time 2) for mental state knowledge, metaknowledge about reading, and VA.

Aging and everyday memory: the beneficial effect of memory training.

The authors investigated elderly people's ability to benefit from specific memory training. Empirical evidence of cognitive aging shows a deterioration in working memory ability but also suggests that elderly people maintain the ability to acquire new information and strategies. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of two different mnemonic strategies (Loci mnemonic vs.