How can the study of aging inform research on social cognition?

This introduction sets the stage and previews the articles that appear in this special section on social cognition and aging. The articles examine a diverse range of social cognitive phenomenon including the correspondence bias, impression formation, stereotype threat, self identity, and processing goals from an adult developmental perspective. These papers suggest that by adopting a developmental approach to social cognitive questions, we can advance our understanding of the complex interplay between the changing organism and social cognitive processes in a way that both generalizes and extends our current social cognitive theories.