Children's theory of mind: Understanding of desire, belief and emotion with social referents

Author(s): Frye, D.

Journal/Book: Soc Dev. 1999; 8: 108 Cowley Rd, Oxford Ox4 1Jf, Oxon, England. Blackwell Publ Ltd. 70-92.

Abstract: Preschoolers' understanding of belief, desire, and emotion was assessed in a new false belief task that explored children's mental stare reasoning about social situations. The social analog task presented a change in a partner's play activity rather than a change in the location of a physical object. Two main differences from the usual pattern of theory of mind results were obtained Five-year-olds had more difficult understanding a false belief about another's current social activity compared to a false belief about a physical situation. The understanding of desire exhibited a 3- to 5-year age change that may have been shown because the social situation involved conflicting desires. When there was a conflict, the younger children tended to disregard the stated desire and exhibited 'social opportunism' by misattributing desires to permit a social interaction. The new results give a more varied picture of the development of theory of mind, and argue for expanding its study into social frames of reference..

Note: Article Nguyen L, NYU, Dept Psychol, 6 Washington Pl, New York,NY 10003 USA

Keyword(s): mental states reasoning; social understanding; theory of mind; INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES; FALSE BELIEF; PEOPLES FEELINGS; YOUNG-CHILDREN; DECEPTION; ABILITY; STATES

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