The Relationship Between Theory of Mind and Executive Function in a Sample of Children from Mainland China

Yang, Juan; Zhou, Shuhua; Yao, Shuqiao; Su, Linyan; McWhinnie, Chad M.

doi:10.1007/s10578-008-0119-4

Cited by 39 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(66 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Results showed small but significant concurrent correlations in the expected directions between all studied EF subcomponents (attention shifting, WM updating and inhibition) and ToM. In line with previous research (Perner et al, 2002; Yang et al, 2009; Calderon et al, 2010), better abilities in executive control of thought or action were related to better understanding of others’ mental states at t1 (6–11 years) and t2 (7–12 years). Second, we explored whether each EF subcomponent at t1 predicted ToM at t2, or vice versa, over a 1-year period.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…For instance, it has been found that the EF–ToM relationship extends to children between 4 1 / 2 and 6 1 / 2 years for second-order false-belief tasks and more demanding EF tasks (Perner et al, 2002). Similar results have been reported for children of middle childhood (Yang et al, 2009; Calderon et al, 2010) and in adolescents (Vetter et al, 2013). However, results in a sample of 8 1 / 2 year-olds with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were less conclusive (Charman et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 89%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The reciprocal relationship between executive function and theory of mind in middle childhood: a 1-year longitudinal perspective

2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is robust evidence showing a link between executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM) in 3- to 5-year-olds. However, it is unclear whether this relationship extends to middle childhood. In addition, there has been much discussion about the nature of this relationship. Whereas some authors claim that ToM is needed for EF, others argue that ToM requires EF. To date, however, studies examining the longitudinal relationship between distinct subcomponents of EF [i.e., attention shifting, working memory (WM) updating, inhibition] and ToM in middle childhood are rare. The present study examined (1) the relationship between three EF subcomponents (attention shifting, WM updating, inhibition) and ToM in middle childhood, and (2) the longitudinal reciprocal relationships between the EF subcomponents and ToM across a 1-year period. EF and ToM measures were assessed experimentally in a sample of 1,657 children (aged 6–11 years) at time point one (t1) and 1 year later at time point two (t2). Results showed that the concurrent relationships between all three EF subcomponents and ToM pertained in middle childhood at t1 and t2, respectively, even when age, gender, and fluid intelligence were partialled out. Moreover, cross-lagged structural equation modeling (again, controlling for age, gender, and fluid intelligence, as well as for the earlier levels of the target variables), revealed partial support for the view that early ToM predicts later EF, but stronger evidence for the assumption that early EF predicts later ToM. The latter was found for attention shifting and WM updating, but not for inhibition. This reveals the importance of studying the exact interplay of ToM and EF across childhood development, especially with regard to different EF subcomponents. Most likely, understanding others’ mental states at different levels of perspective-taking requires specific EF subcomponents, suggesting developmental change in the relations between EF and ToM across childhood.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 89%

The reciprocal relationship between executive function and theory of mind in middle childhood: a 1-year longitudinal perspective

2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…An important and unexplored question is related to the functional link between ToM and EF in ASD and ADHD. To the best of our knowledge, in the only study that analyzed this question, carried out by Yang et al (2009), the data from the correlational analyses showed that only inhibition was significantly related to ToM performance after partialling out non-verbal intelligence. Yang et al (2009) applied laboratory neuropsychological tasks to measure EF.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The analysis of the 11 studies that have compared children and adolescents with ASD and ADHD (see Table 1) shows that these two disorders share difficulties in social cognition, both on different levels of ToM tasks and on tests of emotion recognition (Buitelaar et al, 1999; Adachi et al, 2004; Downs and Smith, 2004; Sinzig et al, 2008; Yang et al, 2009; Bühler et al, 2011; Demurie et al, 2011; Demopoulos et al, 2013; Baribeau et al, 2015; Hutchins et al, 2016) or empathic capacity (Dyck et al, 2001). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…People with ASD are affected more severely, producing a symptomatological continuity where ADHD holds an intermediate position between TD and ASD (Demurie et al, 2011; Demopoulos et al, 2013; Baribeau et al, 2015). In fact, individuals with ADHD, compared to ASD, seem to perform similarly to the TD group on appearance-reality tasks (Yang et al, 2009). However, some studies diverge from the general tendency, revealing that children with ADHD could not be differentiated from children with high-functioning autism on their performance on ToM tasks, especially on second-order mentalizing skills (Buitelaar et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Social Cognition in Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Associations with Executive Functions

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by social impairments. The first objective of this study was to analyze social cognition deficits of children with ADHD, high-functioning ASD (HFASD), and typical development (TD) in their performance on explicit and applied measures of theory of mind (ToM). The second objective was to investigate the relationships between executive functions and social cognition in HFASD and ADHD. One hundred and twenty-six 7- to 11-year old children, 52 with HFASD, 35 with ADHD, and 39 with TD, performed the NEPSY-II social perception subtests. Parents estimated their children's ToM skills using the Theory of Mind Inventory (ToMI). Teacher-reported data from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) were also obtained. The HFASD and ADHD groups showed worse performance on the verbal ToM task than the TD group, and only the performance of the HFASD group was significantly lower than the TD group on the contextual ToM task. Parents also estimated that the HFASD group had more difficulties on the applied ToM than the ADHD and TD groups. Furthermore, there is a different executive function-theory of mind link in the HFASD and ADHD groups: behavioral regulation processes such as inhibition and emotional control are more associated with social cognition in children with ADHD, whereas metacognitive processes such as initiation and planning have a strong association with social cognition in children with HFASD. These findings have implications for understanding social perception deficits in neurodevelopmental disorders, highlighting the need for early intervention.

show abstract

The association between theory of mind, executive function, and the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It has been strongly argued that atypical cognitive processes in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) contribute to the expression of behavioural symptoms. Comprehensive investigation of these claims has been limited by small and unrepresentative sample sizes and the absence of wide-ranging task batteries. The current study investigated the cognitive abilities of 100 adolescents with ASD (mean age 5 15 years 6 months), using 10 tasks to measure the domains of theory of mind (ToM) and executive function (EF). We used structural equation modelling as a statistically robust way of exploring the associations between cognition and parent-reported measures of social communication and restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRBs). We found that ToM ability was associated with both social communication symptoms and RRBs. EF was a correlate of ToM but had no direct association with parent-reported symptom expression. Our data suggest that in adolescence ToM ability, but not EF, is directly related to autistic symptom expression. Autism Res 2018, 11: 95-109. V C 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Lay Summary: The behaviours that are common to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been linked to differences in thinking ability. We assessed autistic adolescents and found that social communication difficulties and the presence of restricted and repetitive behaviours related to difficulties in understanding other peoples' minds (theory of mind). In contrast, these behaviours were not associated with the general thinking abilities involved in planning and executing tasks (executive function).

show abstract

The Relationship Between Theory of Mind and Executive Function in a Sample of Children from Mainland China

Cited by 39 publications

References 50 publications

The reciprocal relationship between executive function and theory of mind in middle childhood: a 1-year longitudinal perspective

The reciprocal relationship between executive function and theory of mind in middle childhood: a 1-year longitudinal perspective

Social Cognition in Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Associations with Executive Functions

The association between theory of mind, executive function, and the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About