Sequential Progressions in a Theory-of-Mind Scale: Longitudinal Perspectives

Abstract

Consecutive re-testings of 92 U.S. preschoolers (n = 30), Chinese preschoolers (n = 31), and deaf children (n = 31) examined whether the sequences of development apparent in cross-sectional results with a theory-of-mind scale also appeared in longitudinal assessment. Longitudinal data confirmed that theory-of-mind progressions apparent in cross-sectional scaling data also characterized longitudinal sequences of understanding for individual children. The match between cross-sectional and longitudinal sequences appeared for children who exhibit different progressions across cultures (U.S. vs. China) and for children with substantial delays (deaf children of hearing parents). Moreover, greater scale distances reflected larger longitudinal age differences.Adults consistently interpret each other's actions in terms of underlying mental states (beliefs, desires, and emotions)-termed a theory of mind--and children come to do so in the preschool years (Harris 2006;Wellman 2002). Theory of mind encompasses understanding of various mental states as well as how action is shaped by such mental states and experiences, not only in straightforward situations but also when mind and action are at odds because of forgetting, ignorance, false beliefs, accident, and error. Thus, a "standard" way to assess theory of mind development is through false belief tasks that require inferences about the action or thinking of someone whose beliefs conflict with reality and with the child's own current knowledge. Indeed, theory of mind is sometimes described as a preschool achievement equated with successful performance on false belief tasks. However, we advocate a broader construal, both conceptually and developmentally. Achieving a theory of mind includes understanding multiple concepts acquired in developmental progression (Wellman & Liu 2004;Pons, Harris & de Rosnay 2003). For this reason, researchers have recently established a Theory of Mind Scale and used it to examine sequences of theory-ofmind understanding in different groups of children-typically developing children in several countries as well as deaf and autistic children who experience significant theory of mind delays (e.g. Wellman & Liu 2004;Wellman, et al. 2006;Peterson, et al. 2005).In brief, this scale (ToM Scale) provides a cross-sectional ordering of the developmental ease or difficulty of different theory of mind conceptions. A task battery such as this could sample from many mental state constructs and tasks, but this scale encompasses carefully constructed tasks assessing childhood understanding of (1) diverse desires (people can have different desires for the same thing), (2) diverse beliefs (people can have different beliefs about the same situation), (3) knowledge-access (something can be true, but someone might not know that), (4) false belief (something can be true, but someone might believe something different), and (5) hidden emotion (someone can feel one way but display a different emotion). The tasks are devised to be similar in procedures, language, a...

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

“…Students from private schools (M = 4.39; SD = 1.58) obtained more expressive results than did those from public schools (M = 3.79; SD = 1.53), with significant differences (p < 0.008). In this sense, our findings are consistent with the considerations put forward by Wellman et al (2011), i.e., they note the relevance of children's sociocultural, family and school experiences.…”

“…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.…”

“…Authors such as Wellman, Fang, and Peterson (2011) stress the importance of taking into account the sociocultural, family and school experiences of children in the development of understanding regarding mental states. This avenue includes studies addressing interventions that show positive effects on child socio-cognitive improvement.…”

Belief Is Prior to Knowledge

“…As Wellman, Fang and Peterson (2011) note "children who are born deaf into hearing families…are unlikely to have anyone at home to converse freely about mind-related topics like thoughts and beliefs." (p. 784).…”

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

“…Although ToM continues to develop across life span, early childhood is the essential stage of the development of ToM. Compared to infants and toddlers, the biological, cognitive, and socioemotional functions of preschoolers are much more mature, ToM develops much more rapidly, and the impacts of culture on the development of ToM seem to be more significant (e.g., Wellman et al, 2011;Zelazo et al, 2005). Furthermore, children's ToM during this stage predicts their later ToM and social functions (e.g., Shakoor et al, 2012;Zelazo et al, 2005).…”