ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Cognitive Science
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1549378
This article is part of the Research TopicWhen (and how) Theory of Mind is useful? Evidence from Innovative Assessment Tools, Training, and Treatments Strategies - Volume IIView all 9 articles
A Longitudinal Study of Theory of Mind Across the Lifespan
Provisionally accepted
- 1Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey, Canada
- 2Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
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Theory of Mind (ToM) is essential for social interactions. However, gaps remain in our knowledge of when ToM abilities develop and change, particularly from adolescence to older adulthood. We used data from an ongoing longitudinal study to examine ToM abilities across three time points in participants aged 3 years and older. Cognitive ToM was assessed using the Sandbox task (N = 187; age range = 3-80 years), and affective ToM was assessed using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task (RMET; N = 121; age range = 6-80 years). Data were analyzed using mixed-design ANOVAs to examine interactions between Age Group and Time Point. Results revealed that children aged 6–9 years exhibited significantly lower ToM abilities compared to adults. However, beyond childhood, both cognitive and affective ToM remained relatively stable across the lifespan. Our study illuminates critical periods of ToM development. Moreover, our study highlights the importance of using measures that capture subtle changes across the lifespan.
Keywords: Theory of Mind, longitudinal analysis, Lifespan, Sandbox task, Reading the Mind in the Eyes, social cognition
Received: 21 Dec 2024; Accepted: 16 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Erceg, Dhillon, Derksen and Bernstein. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Daniel M Bernstein, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey, Canada
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