Culture and the sequence of steps in theory of mind development.

Abstract

To examine cultural contrasts in the ordered sequence of conceptual developments leading to theory of mind (ToM), we compared 135 3- to 6-year-olds (77 Australians; 58 Iranians) on an established 5-step ToM scale (Wellman & Liu, 2004). There was a cross-cultural difference in the sequencing of ToM steps but not in overall rates of ToM mastery. In line with our predictions, the children from Iran conformed to a distinctive sequence previously observed only in children in China. In contrast to the case with children from Australia (and the United States), knowledge access was understood earlier than opinion diversity in children from Iran, consistent with this collectivist culture's emphasis on filial respect, dispute avoidance, and acquiring knowledge. Having a sibling was linked with faster overall ToM progress in Australia only and was not related to scale sequences in either culture.

Evaluation of theory of mind: A study with students from public and private schools

“…This is a potential line of research for future studies. Such a difference may account for potential differences between experiences of children in different school contexts, which is in agreement with studies following this direction of research (Shahaeian et al, 2011;Wellman et al, 2011). These findings open up new possibilities for investigations that may broaden the relationship of these factors with the acquisition of the theory of mind.…”

“…The convergence of results in studies addressing Brazilian children may indicate the interference of factors related to the cultural context in the acquisition of the theory of mind, as described by Shahaeian et al (2011). It is important to note that studies conducted in other sociocultural contexts also found differences in regard to the developmental sequence of the theory of mind, such as when Chinese children are compared to American and Australian children (Wellman et al 2006) or when Iranian children are compared with Australian children (Shahaeian et al, 2011).…”

“…A consistent sequence was verified in the performance of tasks in both groups in regard to an understanding of the theory of mind. Shahaeian, Peterson, Slaughter, and Wellman (2011) conducted a cross-cultural study to examine the cultural contrasts that may influence the development of a child's theory of mind. They compared the performance of 135 children aged between 3 and 6 years old (77 Australian and 58 Iranian children).…”

Development of Theory of Mind in Preschoolers Who Grow up in Two Conflicting and Unbalanced Cultures

“…Nevertheless, the developmental sequences in which ToM concepts are acquired in children who grow up in Eastern countries differ from that of Western countries. North American and Australian children have an earlier understanding of diverse beliefs than knowledge access (Peterson, Wellman, & Liu, 2005;Wellman & Liu, 2004), whereas mainland Chinese and Iranian children have an earlier understanding of knowledge access than diverse beliefs (Shahaeian, Peterson, Slaughter, & Wellman, 2011;Wellman, Fang, Liu, Zhu, & Liu, 2006;Wellman et al, 2011).…”

Unraveling the evolution of uniquely human cognition

“…Around the age of four, human children reach another milestone in their understanding of others as intentional agents, explicitly interpreting others' behavior as the output of a belief-desire psychology and also reasoning about the goals and beliefs not only of other individuals, but also of their cultural group more broadly (4). Recent cross-cultural studies reveal that these early-emerging skills for reasoning about others' minds develop at approximately the same age across diverse cultures (10,11) and represent critical milestones on the path to uniquely human cultural cognition. Of course, the acquisition of a symbolic language further propels human cognition, possibly by providing a new representational medium that permits novel forms of abstract and relational reasoning, as well as unprecedented forms of communicative flexibility (12)(13)(14)(15).…”