Developmental Trajectory of Theory-of-Mind Decline in Older Adults

Abstract Theory-of-Mind (ToM) is critical to individual social competence and mental health across the lifespan (Frith, 2008). Though it is often discussed as one broad construct, ToM abilities can be viewed as following a developmental trajectory: from early emotion recognition and gaze following to more advanced inferences about others’ beliefs, perspectives, and intentions (Hutchins et al., 2012). Despite current literature suggesting that ToM abilities may be impaired in late adulthood, there is no consensus regarding whether ToM abilities are differentially affected by age. In this study, we examined younger adults (N=18, aged 19-30) and older adults (N=13, aged 58-76) on their ToM competence across three levels of ToM abilities: Early-ToM (e.g., recognizing a happy face), Basic-ToM (e.g., perspective-taking and false-belief reasoning), and Advanced-ToM (e.g., inferring second-order emotion and false belief). All participants completed a Theory-of-Mind Task Battery consisting of three subscales that assessed the three levels of ToM, where participants viewed vignettes and answered questions about the protagonists’ feelings and beliefs. Overall, younger adults outperformed older adults on the battery, F(1,29)=7.34, p=.011. However, a significant interaction between age and ToM levels (p=.010) revealed that Early and Advanced ToM (ps>.25) were not as affected by age as Basic ToM (p=.007). Older adults have difficulty in inferring others’ perspectives/beliefs while their attributions of emotion and higher-order false beliefs are relatively preserved compared to the younger adults. These findings provide important insights into the impact of age on various levels of ToM and could help inform early detection of ToM decline in normal aging.

participants than non-Hispanic White (beta=.046) or Hispanic (beta=.059) participants. Discussion: Chronic stress may negatively influence episodic memory, but findings do not suggest that CRP mediates links between chronic stress and cognition. CRP may not track as closely with chronic stress among non-Hispanic Black older adults who may experience additional risk factors for inflammation and/ or adapt to increased chronic stress.

CORTISOL RESPONSES TO A LABORATORY CHALLENGE: THE MODERATING ROLE OF COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE
Elise Grimm, 1 and Stefan Agrigoroaei, 2 1. Universite Catholique de Louvain,Belgium,2. UCLouvain,Belgium,Belgium Recent theoretical and empirical studies have considered higher cognitive performance as a protective factor with respect to reactivity, recovery and habituation to acute stressors. The goal of our study was to examine the individual role of inhibition, working memory, processing speed, reasoning, and category fluency in the regulation of the cortisol response to a laboratory challenge. Younger, middle-aged, and older participants (N =109,M=55.90,SD=16.35) were invited to a laboratory session comprising a driving simulation and a set of cognitive tasks. At least one week in advance, baseline cognitive performance was measured using the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT). Throughout the lab session, five saliva samples were taken, which allowed for the computation of a global measure of cortisol release (area under the curve (AUC)). Cortisol AUC was regressed on the individual BTACT cognitive tests, while controlling for age, sex, education, body mass index, physical activity, and time since awakening. The results revealed that inhibition and working memory significantly accounted for the cortisol response. These associations remained significant when other factors such as smoking, caffeine consumption, and medication use were included as covariates. The contributions of reasoning and speed of processing approached significance. Our findings contribute to the emerging evidence that cognitive functioning modulates stress responses to acute stressors. The findings are discussed in the context of cognitive interventions with transfers and implications for stress processes and healthy aging.

DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORY OF THEORY-OF-MIND DECLINE IN OLDER ADULTS
W. Quin Yow, Xiaoqian Li, and Jiawen Lee, Singapore University of Technology & Design, Singapore, Singapore Theory-of-Mind (ToM) is critical to individual social competence and mental health across the lifespan (Frith, 2008). Though it is often discussed as one broad construct, ToM abilities can be viewed as following a developmental trajectory: from early emotion recognition and gaze following to more advanced inferences about others' beliefs, perspectives, and intentions (Hutchins et al., 2012). Despite current literature suggesting that ToM abilities may be impaired in late adulthood, there is no consensus regarding whether ToM abilities are differentially affected by age. In this study, we examined younger adults (N=18, aged 19-30) and older adults (N=13, aged 58-76) on their ToM competence across three levels of ToM abilities: Early-ToM (e.g., recognizing a happy face), Basic-ToM (e.g., perspectivetaking and false-belief reasoning), and Advanced-ToM (e.g., inferring second-order emotion and false belief). All participants completed a Theory-of-Mind Task Battery consisting of three subscales that assessed the three levels of ToM, where participants viewed vignettes and answered questions about the protagonists' feelings and beliefs. Overall, younger adults outperformed older adults on the battery, F(1,29)=7.34, p=.011. However, a significant interaction between age and ToM levels (p=.010) revealed that Early and Advanced ToM (ps>.25) were not as affected by age as Basic ToM (p=.007). Older adults have difficulty in inferring others' perspectives/ beliefs while their attributions of emotion and higher-order false beliefs are relatively preserved compared to the younger adults. These findings provide important insights into the impact of age on various levels of ToM and could help inform early detection of ToM decline in normal aging. Memory loss happens in later life. For cognitively healthy older adults, deficits in memory in everyday life may be frustrating, but are less severe compared to the memory dysfunction observed in persons with progressive dementia syndromes, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Normal memory aging has been defined as benign memory deficits due to genuine maturational processes in otherwise healthy older adults. Pathological memory aging has been defined as memory dysfunction due to non-normative factors such as disease or trauma to the brain (Cherry & Smith, 1998). In the present research, we examined the effects of instruction on knowledge of memory aging issues among communitydwelling older adults. Participants ranged in age from 59 to 94 years. All were enrolled in a six-week lecture series on cognition in later life. They completed the Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire (KMAQ: Cherry, Brigman, Hawley, & Reese, 2003) before and after the series. Results indicated that their knowledge of pathological memory aging was greater than their knowledge of normal memory aging, as expected. Importantly, both normal and pathological types of knowledge were impacted by instruction, as posttest scores were higher than pre-test scores for both scales. In addition, a select set of items reflecting ageist views were also impacted by instruction; scores on this subset were significantly improved (less reflective of ageist stereotypes) at the end of the lecture series. Implications for the design of educational programs on adult cognition for community-dwelling older adults are considered.

EARLY-TO LATE-LIFE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND LATE-LIFE GLOBAL COGNITION: THE SONIC STUDY
Yoshiko Ishioka, 1 Yasuyuki Gondo, 2 Yukie Masui, 3 Takeshi Nakagawa, 4 Madoka Ogawa, 3 Hiroki Inagaki, 3 Saori Yasumoto, 2 and Tatsuro Ishizaki, 3 1. Keio University, Kanagawa,Japan,2. Osaka University,Suita,Osaka,Japan,3. Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology,Tokyo,Japan,4. National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology,Ōbu,Aichi,Japan Life environment across the life course-such as engagement in late-life leisure activity (LA), primary occupation, and early-life education-have been reported to be associated with better late-life cognitive outcomes. However, few studies have included all these factors from the past to the present due to the time-consuming procedure to measure all factors. This study examined (1) whether late-life LA is associated with better late-life cognition, after considering other life environments and (2) whether occupation, education, and childhood intelligence quotient have indirect effects on the late-life cognition through late-life LA. We used baseline data from the groups of 70-and 80-year-olds in the SONIC study (N = 1721 ). Global cognition was measured using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. As for LA, participants were asked for yes/no answers to questions regarding their engagement in 158 activities. A latent factor representing LA was used in the analyses. We retrospectively evaluated the complexity of work with data, people, and things. As earlylife environments, education and language and arithmetic abilities during elementary school were included in the analyses. Age and gender were controlled. A structural equation model showed that late-life LA was significantly associated with higher global cognition, even after controlling for all past factors (RMSEA = .050, GFI = .973, AGFI = .947). Sobel tests showed significant indirect effects of occupation, education, and childhood abilities on cognitive function. Results were robust across age and gender. It is suggested that engagement in LA explains individual differences in late-life cognitive function.

EVIDENCE FOR AN AGE-RELATED POSITIVITY EFFECT IN METACOGNITIVE CONFIDENCE JUDGMENTS
Edie Sanders, 1 and Jane Berry, 2 1. Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States, 2. University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, United States We examined age differences in metacognitive monitoring of emotionally-valenced stimuli. If older adults (OAs) are more focused on emotionally meaningful goals in late life (Carstensen, 2006), then they should demonstrate attentional and memory biases for positive stimuli over neutral and negative stimuli and, arguably, these cognitive biases should be reflected in their metacognitive judgments of learning. Judgments of learning (JOLs) for memory of positive, negative, and neutral words were collected. Younger adults (YAs) aged 18-23 years and OAs aged 65-90 years (N = 85) studied words in each valence category and made immediate JOLs, followed by a two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) recognition memory task. Analyses of JOLs revealed evidence for a positivity effect (Mather & Carstensen, 2005) in metacognitive confidence for OAs and an emotional salience effect in YAs (Tauber & Dunlosky, 2012;Zimmerman & Kelley, 2010). Predictably, YAs recognized more words than OAs, but valence did not affect number of words recognized and valence did not moderate age differences in recognition memory (p = .055). Memory monitoring as measured by resolution accuracy was equivalent in YAs and OAs (Hertzog