Professor Heather Ferguson (Kent): Distinguishing mechanisms for social-cognitive development School of Psychology and Neuroscience Friday seminar series

The School of Psychology and Neuroscience seminar series presents a talk by Professor Heather Ferguson (Kent), titled ‘Distinguishing mechanisms for social-cognitive development and decline across the lifespan', which will be hosted by Professor Ines Jentzsch in the Old Library and accessible online through MS Teams.

Successful social interaction relies on the ability to detect and respond appropriately to social information in one's environment (that is, social attention) and to infer other people's perspectives and mental states, namely their beliefs and intentions, known as Theory of Mind. These abilities in turn enable us to engage in prosocial behaviours, such as helping and cooperating with others.

In this talk Professor Ferguson will present data from a series of studies that have explored the lifespan development of these social-cognitive skills, and will highlight particular methodological and conceptual challenges to this lifespan approach. She will also discuss what these studies have revealed about the mechanisms that underlie social-cognitive success in general, and the specific developmental influences that distinguish patterns of development during adolescence and decline in older age.