Ongoing development of social cognition in adolescence |
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| Authors: | Nora C Vetter Kristina Leipold Matthias Kliegel Louise H Phillips Mareike Altgassen |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Psychology, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Dresden, Germanyvetter@psychologie.tu-dresden.de;3. Department of Business and Economics, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Dresden, Germany;4. Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland;5. School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK;6. Department of Psychology, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Dresden, Germany |
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| Abstract: | Age differences in social cognition between adolescents and young adults were investigated. Two large groups of adolescents and young adults were given tasks of theory of mind and emotion recognition. In addition, to control for possibly related basic cognitive development, working memory, speed of processing, and verbal ability were assessed. A strong age effect was revealed across both measures of social cognition. Adolescents performed with a lower accuracy than adults. Further analyses indicated that those age differences remained significant even after controlling for basic cognitive abilities. Exploratory analyses indicated no influence of pubertal phase on social cognition. Results suggest ongoing development of social cognition across adolescence, independent of individual differences in more basic cognitive abilities. |
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| Keywords: | Adolescence Puberty Social cognition Emotion Basic cognitive abilities |
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