Mindsets over matter: priming theory of mind improves older adults' mental state attributions about naturalistic...

Aging is associated with declines in theory of mind - the ability to infer the mental states of others. We examined whether priming theory of mind mindsets actively (Study 1) and passively (Study 2) improved older adults' performance.

Across two studies, participants completed a novel question-and-answer theory of mind task using the television show Nathan for You^® in a mindset or no mindset condition. In Study 1, participants (N = 324, 18-84 years) completed a similar task related to a different show prior to the Nathan for You task (active mindset). In Study 2, young (N = 235; M_Age = 20.47) and older (N = 193, M_Age = 74.48) adults made continuous ratings of awkwardness of different episodes of Nathan for You before completing the question-and-answer task (passive mindset). We also measured executive function and episodic memory. In both studies, the same tasks were performed in reverse order for the control conditions (no mindset).

Mindsets were associated with small-to-medium increases in theory of mind performance. Cognitive ability did not explain these improvements.

These findings suggest that theory of mind performance can be improved through motivation (e.g. mindsets); cognitive function (e.g. ability) does not moderate this relationship.