223 research outputs found
Individual differences in theory of mind in middle childhood and adolescence
No full textFor more than two decades, researchers have documented striking individual differences in children’s understanding of others’ minds. The extension of research on theory of mind into middle childhood and adolescence provides a new opportunity to consider the nature, measurement, and consequences of individual differences in theory of mind. This chapter evaluates the claim that there are genuine (i.e., stable differences between children) and meaningful (i.e., with consequences for children’s social lives) individual differences in theory of mind in early and middle childhood. The chapter draws on three sources of evidence: (1) studies adopting theory of mind task batteries to investigate individual differences in children’s mindreading; (2) a new meta-analysis of 76 longitudinal studies of the rank-order stability of individual differences in theory of mind in early and middle childhood; and (3) longitudinal data examining the association between individual differences in theory of mind and social competence in middle childhood. The chapter builds on contemporary measurement theory to identify promising avenues for future research on the nature of individual differences in theory of mind
Children in ethnically diverse classrooms and those with cross-ethnic friendships excel at understanding others' minds
No full textThis study examined the link between classroom ethnic diversity, cross‐ethnic friendships, and children's theory of mind. In total, 730 children in the United Kingdom (54.7% girls, 51.5% White) aged 8 to 13 years completed measures of theory of mind in 2019/2020. Controlling for verbal ability, executive function, peer social preference, and teacher‐reported demographic characteristics, greater classroom ethnic diversity provided opportunities for cross‐ethnic friendships, and children with cross‐ethnic friendships performed better than peers without cross‐ethnic friendships on theory of mind. These results extend accounts of intergroup contact by using direct assessments of children's theory of mind and advance social accounts of theory of mind by demonstrating how experiences outside the family are linked with theory of mind
Lost in Translation? Comparing British, Japanese, and Italian Children’s Theory-of-Mind Performance
No full textFindings from cross-cultural theory-of-mind studies highlight potential measurement effects and both general (e.g., East-West) and specific (e.g., pedagogical experiences) cultural contrasts. We compared theory-of-mind scores for children from UK and Italy (two Western countries that differ in age of school entry) and Japan (a Far-Eastern country in which children, like their Italian counterparts, start school later than British children). Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to data from 268 age-gender- and verbal ability-matched 5- to 6-year olds. Key findings were that (i) all 8 indicators loaded onto a single latent factor; and (ii) this latent factor explained significant variance in each group, with just one indicator showing differential item functioning. Supporting the importance of pedagogical experiences, British children outperformed both their Italian and Japanese counterparts
Promoting theory of mind in school-aged children:Direct and transfer effects
No full textDespite theory of mind (ToM) has a role in social and cognitive development in school aged children, very few studies have proposed interventions to promote ToM in middle childhood. To fill this gap, we developed a novel ToM training program for 9- to 10-year-old children. Results showed that, after the intervention, children in the ToM group improved in ToM task performance significantly more than children in the control condition. The positive effect of the ToM intervention generalized to a new film-based ToM task and was not determined by pre-existing individual differences in ToM, cognitive, and executive skills between groups.</p
Do executive function and theory of mind underpin child positivity and autonomy during parent-child interactions?
No full textAmong the multiple determinants of children’s social development are two socio-cognitive factors, theory of mind (ToM) and executive functions (EF). ToM is defined as the ability to infer others’ beliefs, desires, and intentions (Flavell and Miller, 1994; Wellman & Liu, 2014) and EF refers to the processes that underpin goal-directed behaviour and adaptive responses to novel or ambiguous situations (Diamond, 2013; Zelazo, 2015). These show independent predictive associations with measures of social competence in both typically developing children (e.g., Devine & Hughes, 2014; Hughes et al., 2000; Hughes & Ensor, 2006) and neurodiverse groups (e.g., Charman et al., 2001; Joseph & Tager-Flusberg, 2004). Although links between ToM and EF are well-established (Devine & Hughes, 2014), existing work on the independence and interplay between ToM and EF in relation to children’s social outcomes has been almost exclusively restricted to peer relations. This focus is understandable, given the substantial amounts of time children spend with peers at school (Rubin et al., 2006). Moreover, for practical reasons of time and availability, observational studies of child-caregiver interactions rarely extend beyond the preschool years. Drawing on recent work, this study examines individual differences in children’s EF and ToM in relation to two aspects of their social behaviours when engaging with their parents in an online version of the Etch-A-Sketch task (Oliver and Pike, 2019): positivity and autonomy
Theory of mind in adolescents with autism
No full textEvidence for differences in theory of mind between persons with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) has arguably contributed to the enormous interest in studying theory of mind since the mid-1980s. Early accounts of ASD suggested that the impairments in social communication and interaction observed in those with ASD could be attributed to a general theory of mind deficit. This chapter attempts to integrate a selection of contemporary research on theory of mind in ASD – with a particular emphasis on middle childhood and adolescence. Over the years, our research team has done several studies on autism and theory of mind in this age group, and we will put some of this work in perspective here. We examine the origins and consequences of theory of mind difficulties among children and adolescents with ASD, critically evaluate existing theoretical accounts of theory of mind deficits in ASD, and highlight important unanswered questions for future research
Cognitive basis of mindreading in middle childhood and adolescence
No full textA full account of the development of mindreading must explain how children move beyond the achievements of early childhood to develop the mature abilities of adults. We are rapidly learning more about mindreading in adults, and the present chapter takes the model of adult mindreading as a guide for thinking about the cognitive basis of mindreading in middle childhood and adolescence. This approach leads to three main considerations. Firstly, increasing capacity for memory and executive control is likely to enable children and adolescents to engage in more effortful mindreading. Secondly, increasing practice is likely to lead to improved efficiency and automatization of some (but by no means all) mindreading. Thirdly, increasing social experience is likely to improve the ability to use mindreading flexibly and appropriately
Theory of Mind in Middle Childhood and Adolescence:Integrating Multiple Perspectives
No full textThis landmark text integrates diverse perspectives on how humans understand others’ minds (or ‘theory of mind’) beyond early childhood into middle childhood and adolescence. It explores how the neural, cognitive, and social changes of middle childhood and adolescence shape the ongoing development of theory of mind, and how theory of mind helps children navigate their lives.Drawing on cutting-edge research from leading international experts, this book provides a survey and analysis of the current state and future direction of the field. It is organized around three themes relating to the key issues in contemporary research. The first part focuses on the biological and cognitive bases of theory of mind in middle childhood and adolescence. The second part goes on to explore the social predictors and consequences, considering how theory of mind is shaped by social experiences and, in turn, impacts children’s social lives in middle childhood and adolescence. Finally, the third part focuses on theory of mind in the context of neurodiversity, disability, and youth mental health in middle childhood and adolescence.Offering in-depth understanding for all students and scholars of developmental and cognitive psychology, neuroscience, clinical psychology and psychiatry, and education, this valuable text also identifies an agenda for future scholarship on this exciting topic
Theory of Mind in Middle Childhood and Adolescence:Integrating Multiple Perspectives
No full textThis landmark text integrates diverse perspectives on how humans understand others’ minds (or ‘theory of mind’) beyond early childhood into middle childhood and adolescence. It explores how the neural, cognitive, and social changes of middle childhood and adolescence shape the ongoing development of theory of mind, and how theory of mind helps children navigate their lives.Drawing on cutting-edge research from leading international experts, this book provides a survey and analysis of the current state and future direction of the field. It is organized around three themes relating to the key issues in contemporary research. The first part focuses on the biological and cognitive bases of theory of mind in middle childhood and adolescence. The second part goes on to explore the social predictors and consequences, considering how theory of mind is shaped by social experiences and, in turn, impacts children’s social lives in middle childhood and adolescence. Finally, the third part focuses on theory of mind in the context of neurodiversity, disability, and youth mental health in middle childhood and adolescence.Offering in-depth understanding for all students and scholars of developmental and cognitive psychology, neuroscience, clinical psychology and psychiatry, and education, this valuable text also identifies an agenda for future scholarship on this exciting topic
Promuovere la Teoria della Mente in età scolare: Effetti diretti e di generalizzazione. [Promoting theory of mind in school-aged children: Direct and transfer effects]
No full textGli studi di training sulla Teoria della Mente (ToM) in età scolare sono rari, nonostante questa abilità influenzi lo sviluppo cognitivo e sociale. Nel presente lavoro è stato progettato un inter-vento per promuovere la ToM in bambini di 9-10 anni. Per testarne l’efficacia, il gruppo sperimen-tale (N = 42) è stato confrontato con uno di controllo (N = 43). I risultati mostrano che il gruppo sperimentale incrementa la performance alla ToM in misura significativamente maggiore rispetto a quello di controllo. Questo effetto non è attribuibile a differenze preesistenti tra i gruppi e si gene-ralizza a compiti di ToM non direttamente stimolati durante l’intervento.Despite theory of mind (ToM) has a role in social and cognitive development in school aged children, very few studies have proposed interventions to promote ToM in middle childhood. To fill this gap, we developed a novel ToM training program for 9- to 10-year-old children. Results showed that, after the intervention, children in the ToM group improved in ToM task performance significantly more than children in the control condition. The positive effect of the ToM intervention generalized to a new film-based ToM task and was not determined by pre-existing individual differences in ToM, cognitive, and executive skills between groups
- …
