Theory of mind development from adolescence to adulthood: Testing the two-component model

6533b825fe1ef96bd1282094

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Theory of mind development from adolescence to adulthood: Testing the two-component model

Günter Meinhardt Bozana Meinhardt-injac Bozana Meinhardt-injac Moritz M. Daum

subject

socio‐emotional development Adult Male Adolescent media_common.quotation_subject Human Development Theory of Mind 050105 experimental psychology Developmental psychology Task (project management)Thinking young adulthood Executive Function Young Adult 2806 Developmental Neuroscience Developmental Neuroscience Theory of mind Component (UML)Perception Developmental and Educational Psychology Humans 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Young adult Child two‐component model media_common Language 3204 Developmental and Educational Psychology 10093 Institute of Psychology 05 social sciences Adolescent Development Executive functions Test (assessment)adolescence; socio‐emotional development; Theory of Mind; two‐component model; young adulthood Social Perception 150 Psychologie Faux pas adolescence Female Psychology 150 Psychology 050104 developmental & child psychology 10190 Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development

description

The ability to infer mental and affective states of others is crucial for social functioning. This ability, denoted as Theory of Mind (ToM), develops rapidly during childhood, yet results on its development across adolescence and into young adulthood are rare. In the present study, we tested the two‐component model, measuring age‐related changes in social‐perceptual and social‐cognitive ToM in a sample of 267 participants between 11 and 25 years of age. Additionally, we measured language, reasoning, and inhibitory control as major covariates. Participants inferred mental states from non‐verbal cues in a social‐perceptual task (Eye Test) and from stories with faux pas in a social‐cognitive task (Faux Pas Test). Results showed substantial improvement across adolescence in both ToM measures and in the covariates. Analysis with linear mixed models (LMM) revealed specific age‐related growth for the social‐perceptual component, while the age‐related increase of the social‐cognitive component fully aligned with the increase of the covariates. These results support the distinction between ToM components and indicate that adolescence is a crucial period for developing social‐perceptual ToM abilities.

year	journal	country	edition	language
2020-06-01

10.5167/uzh-200806 https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/200806/