Siblings, Theory of Mind, and Executive Functioning in Children Aged 3–6 Years: New Longitudinal Evidence

Abstract

Longitudinal data were obtained from 157 children aged 3 years 3 months to 5 years 6 months at Time 1. At Time 2 these children had aged an average of 12 months. Theory of mind (ToM) and executive functioning (EF) were measured at both time points. Results suggest that Time 1 ToM scores predict Time 2 EF scores. Detailed examination of sibling influences suggests that benefits-in terms of advanced ToM development-accrue to children with siblings versus without, and to those with a larger number of child-aged siblings. Any advance in either area (ToM or EF) is likely to benefit the other, and early sibling interaction appears to act as a catalyst.

Modelos cognitivos del desarrollo de las funciones ejecutivas. Limitaciones metodológicas y desafíos teóricos.

“…Beyond the variety of existing models, numerous studies agree on the importance of proper development of such processes for human adaptation to the environment (Jacobson, Williford, & Pianta, 2011;McAlister & Peterson, 2012;Wasserman, 2012). Some authors have linked the executive performance with: (a) the development of conscience and certain social and moral skills (Kochanska, Murray, & Harlan, 2000); (b) children's skills in mathematics and arithmetic (Blair & Razza, 2007;Bull, Espy, & Wiebe, 2008;Bull, Espy, Wiebe, Sheffield, & Nelson, 2011;Espy et al, 2004); (c) the ability to read (Swanson & Ashbaker, 2000;Swanson & Sachse-Lee, 2001;Wasserman, 2012) and the academic general performance (Latzman, Elkovitch, Young, & Clark, 2010;Thorell, Veleiro, Siu, Mohammadi, 2012;van der Sluis, 2007); (d) the development of the skills clustered under the "theory of mind" concept (Carlson, Moses, & Claxton, 2004;Hughes & Ensor, 2005); and (e) the emotional regulation (Carlson & Wang, 2007;Rothbart & Posner, 2006).…”

The Invisible Kryptonite Among Super Helpers the Healers of Humanity: Advocating for Super Helpers to Practice What They Preach to Clients?

“…Sibling interactions also foster theory of mind development by allowing children to understand that people may hold different beliefs about the world at any given time [83][84][85]. For example, from young children's perspectives parents may seem to know just about everything.…”

Theory of mind and executive functions in children with mild intellectual disability

“…U kontekstu te pretpostavke, značajno je pomenuti nalaze jednog longitudinalnog istraživa-nja u kojem su kod 157 dece TR procenjivane EF i teorija uma dva puta, a razmak između dve procene bio je godinu dana. Utvrđeno je da je razumevanje mentalnih stanja kod dece TR prosečnog uzrasta oko četiri godine bilo prediktor uspeha na zadacima za procenu EF godinu dana kasnije, nezavisno od nivoa razvijenosti egzkutivnih funkcija prilikom prve procene i jezičkih sposobnosti ove dece (McAlister & Peterson, 2013).…”