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Updated: Sep 22, 2025
10:13
Assessment of Age-related Changes in Cognitive Functions Using EmoCogMeter, a Novel Tablet-computer Based Approach
Published on: February 14, 2014
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Cognitive empathy across the lifespan.
Liam Dorris1,2, David Young3, Jill Barlow3
1Paediatric Neurosciences Research Group, Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow.
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology
|May 20, 2022
Summary
Cognitive empathy develops throughout life, increasing in childhood and early adulthood, then declining in older age. Females consistently show higher cognitive empathy abilities than males across all ages.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Science
Background:
- Cognitive empathy is crucial for social interaction and moral reasoning.
- Understanding its developmental trajectory is key for educational and clinical applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To map the development of cognitive empathy across the entire lifespan.
- To utilize a large cohort and a standardized measure for robust findings.
Main Methods:
- A large convenience sample (n=4545) aged under 5 to over 75 years participated.
- The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test was used to measure cognitive empathy ability.
Main Results:
- Cognitive empathy increased in children (6-7 and 10-12 years) and matured in early adulthood (19-25 years).
- Abilities declined in older adults (>65 years), with a notable drop in males over 75.
- Females consistently outperformed males in cognitive empathy at all ages.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive empathy is a dynamic ability that changes significantly across the lifespan.
- These findings have implications for social education, healthcare, and early detection of neurological conditions.
- The study highlights a consistent female advantage in cognitive empathy.
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