Individual differences in switching and inhibition predict perspective-taking across the lifespan

- We examined the role of switching and inhibition in modulating perspective-taking.
- We analyzed individual differences across the lifespan, from 17 to 84 years old.
- Results confirmed that perspective-taking ability declines with age.
- An Age × Perspective × EF interaction was found for inhibition and switching.
- Perspective is influenced more by inhibition for the young, switching for the old.

Studies exploring the influence of executive functions (EF) on perspective-taking have focused on inhibition and working memory in young adults or clinical populations. Less consideration has been given to more complex capacities that also involve switching attention between perspectives, or to changes in EF and concomitant effects on perspective-taking across the lifespan. To address this, we assessed whether individual differences in inhibition and attentional switching in healthy adults (ages 17-84) predict performance on a task in which speakers identified targets for a listener with size-contrasting competitors in common or privileged ground. Modification differences across conditions decreased with age. Further, perspective taking interacted with EF measures: youngest adults' sensitivity to perspective was best captured by their inhibitory performance; oldest adults' sensitivity was best captured by switching performance. Perspective-taking likely involves multiple aspects of EF, as revealed by considering a wider range of EF tasks and individual capacities across the lifespan.