Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to the ability to make inferences on other's mental or emotional states. Although there is evidence suggesting that impaired executive functions due to aging could have a negative impact on cognitive ToM, there is still controversy about the effect of age and age-related executive dysfunctions on affective ToM. To investigate affective ToM in healthy aging and its relationship with executive functions, we examined Reading Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) performance and executive functions among young and older adults. There was no significant difference between age groups regarding their RMET scores. While affective ToM was correlated to executive functioning within the younger group, short term memory was found to be associated with RMET performance among older participants. Furthermore, within the older group, women performed better than men. Our findings suggest a preserved ability of affective ToM in healthy aging, which appears to be independent of executive functioning.

中文翻译：

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人类衰老中的情感心理理论：与执行功能有关系吗？

心智理论（ToM）是指对他人的心理或情绪状态进行推断的能力。尽管有证据表明，由于衰老引起的执行功能受损可能会对认知ToM产生负面影响，但关于年龄以及与年龄相关的执行功能障碍对情感ToM的影响仍存在争议。为了研究健康衰老中的情感TOM及其与执行功能的关系，我们研究了年轻人和老年人中眼睛的阅读心理测试（RMET）表现和执行功能。年龄组之间的RMET得分没有显着差异。虽然情感ToM与年轻组中的执行功能相关，但发现短期记忆与年龄较大的参与者的RMET表现有关。此外，在年龄较大的人群中，女人的表现要比男人好。我们的发现表明，在健康的衰老过程中，情感TOM的能力得以保持，这似乎与执行功能无关。