Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
Q J Exp Psychol (Hove). 2023 Sep;76(9):2107-2121. doi: 10.1177/17470218221135178. Epub 2022 Nov 15.
Although long-term memory and Theory of Mind (ToM) are closely related across the whole lifespan, little is known about the relationship between ToM and semantic memory. Clinical studies have documented the co-occurrence of ToM impairments and semantic memory abnormalities in individuals with autism or semantic dementia. However, to date, no study has directly investigated the existence of a relationship between ToM and semantic memory in the typical population. We addressed this gap on a sample of 103 healthy adults ( age = 22.96 years; age range = 19-35 years). Participants completed a classical false memory task tapping on semantic processes, the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) task, and two ToM tasks, the Triangles and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes task. They also completed the vocabulary scale from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. Results showed that participants' semantic performance in the DRM task was significantly related to that in the Triangles task. Specifically, the higher participants' ToM in the Triangles task, the higher participants' reliance on semantic memory while making false memories in the DRM task. Our findings are consistent with the Fuzzy Trace Theory and the Weak Central Coherence account and suggest that a (partially) common cognitive process responsible for global versus detailed-focus information processing could underlie these two abilities.
虽然长期记忆和心理理论（ToM）在整个生命周期中密切相关，但关于 ToM 和语义记忆之间的关系知之甚少。临床研究记录了自闭症或语义痴呆个体中 ToM 损伤和语义记忆异常的同时发生。然而，迄今为止，没有研究直接调查典型人群中 ToM 和语义记忆之间是否存在关系。我们在 103 名健康成年人（年龄=22.96 岁；年龄范围=19-35 岁）的样本中解决了这一差距。参与者完成了一个经典的错误记忆任务，该任务涉及语义过程，即 Deese-Roediger-McDermott（DRM）任务，以及两个 ToM 任务，即三角形任务和读心术任务。他们还完成了韦氏成人智力量表中的词汇量表。结果表明，参与者在 DRM 任务中的语义表现与三角形任务中的表现显著相关。具体来说，参与者在三角形任务中的 ToM 越高，在 DRM 任务中产生错误记忆时对语义记忆的依赖程度就越高。我们的发现与模糊痕迹理论和弱中心连贯理论一致，表明负责全局与详细焦点信息处理的（部分）共同认知过程可能是这两种能力的基础。
