title: Children's Increased Emotional Egocentricity Compared to Adults Is Mediated by Age-Related Differences in Conflict Processing.
abstract: This study investigated the cognitive mechanisms underlying age-related differences in emotional egocentricity bias (EEB) between children (aged 7-12 years, n = 30) and adults (aged 20-30 years, n = 30) using a novel paradigm of visuogustatory stimulation to induce pleasant and unpleasant emotions. Both children and adults showed an EBB, but that of children was larger. The EEB did not correlate with other measures of egocentricity. Crucially, the developmental differences in EEB were mediated by age-related changes in conflict processing and not visual perspective taking, response inhibition, or processing speed. This indicates that different types of egocentricity develop independently of one another and that the increased ability to overcome EEB can be explained by age-related improvements in conflict processing.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences.
authors.forename: Ferdinand
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences.
authors.forename: Tania
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Singer
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences.
authors.forename: Nikolaus
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Steinbeis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055697:Taste Perception / Q000502:physiology; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult