scholarly journals Worse Theory of Mind in Only-Children Compared to Children With Siblings and Its Intervention

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuo Zhang ◽  
Haoxue Yu ◽  
Muyun Long ◽  
Hui Li
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Second Order ◽  
False Belief ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Only Children ◽  
First Order ◽  
False Belief Tasks ◽  
Children First ◽  
Experimental Group

The purpose of this study was to explore theory of mind (ToM) differences in children with different birth orders (only-children, first-born children, and second-born children), and further explore the effect of cognitive verb training for only-children’s ToM. Adopting the paradigm of false belief, Study 1 was conducted in which a sample of 120 children aged 3–6, including first-born children, second-born children (siblings aged 1–13 years), and only-children were tested. The results showed that (1) children aged 3–6 had significantly higher scores on first-order false-belief than second-order false-belief. (2) Controlling for age, the only-children scored significantly lower than the first-born children. In Study 2, 28 only-children aged 4–5 (13 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group) who initially failed in false-belief tasks were trained with the cognitive verb animations. Significant post-training improvements were observed for only-children who received training of animations embedded with cognitive verb. Those findings indicated that ToM of only-children was significantly worse than first-born children of two-child families, and linguistic training could facilitate ToM of only-children whose ToM were at a disadvantage.

Complex language, complex thought?

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 28-40
Author(s):  
Suzanne T.M. Bogaerds-Hazenberg ◽  
Petra Hendriks
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Order Theory ◽  
Second Order ◽  
False Belief ◽  
Production Task ◽  
False Belief Task ◽  
First Order ◽  
First Order Theory ◽  
Complex Thought

Abstract It has been argued (e.g., by De Villiers and colleagues) that the acquisition of sentence embedding is necessary for the development of first-order Theory of Mind (ToM): the ability to attribute beliefs to others. This raises the question whether the acquisition of double embedded sentences is related to, and perhaps even necessary for, the development of second-order ToM: the ability to attribute beliefs about beliefs to others. This study tested 55 children (aged 7-10) on their ToM understanding in a false-belief task and on their elicited production of sentence embeddings. We found that second-order ToM passers produced mainly double embeddings, whereas first-order ToM passers produced mainly single embeddings. Furthermore, a better performance on second-order ToM predicted a higher rate of double embeddings and a lower rate of single embeddings in the production task. We conclude that children’s ability to produce double embeddings is related to their development of second-order ToM.

scholarly journals Case Report: Theory of Mind and Figurative Language in a Child With Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Melogno ◽  
Maria Antonietta Pinto ◽  
Teresa Gloria Scalisi ◽  
Fausto Badolato ◽  
Pasquale Parisi
Keyword(s):  
Case Report ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Corpus Callosum ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Mental States ◽  
False Belief ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Metaphor Comprehension ◽  
Brain Hemispheres ◽  
False Belief Tasks

In this case report, we studied Theory of Mind (ToM) and figurative language comprehension in a 7.2-year-old child, conventionally named RJ, with isolated and complete agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC), a rare malformation due to the absence of the corpus callosum, the major tract connecting the two brain hemispheres. To study ToM, which is the capability to infer the other’s mental states, we used the classical false belief tasks, and to study figurative language, i.e., those linguistic usages involving non-literal meanings, we used tasks assessing metaphor and idiom comprehension. RJ’s intellectual level and his phonological, lexical, and grammatical abilities were all adequate. In both the ToM false belief tasks and novel sensory metaphor comprehension, RJ showed a delay of 3 years and a significant gap compared to a typically developing control group, while in idioms, his performance was at the border of average. These outcomes suggest that RJ has a specific pragmatic difficulty in all tasks where he must interpret the other’s communicative intention, as in ToM tasks and novel sensory metaphor comprehension. The outcomes also open up interesting insights into the relationships between ToM and figurative language in children with isolated and complete ACC.

Being Deceived: Information Asymmetry in Second‐Order False Belief Tasks

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 504-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torben Braüner ◽  
Patrick Blackburn ◽  
Irina Polyanskaya
Keyword(s):  
Information Asymmetry ◽  
Second Order ◽  
False Belief ◽  
False Belief Tasks

Assessment of Theory of Mind in Adults: Beyond False Belief Tasks

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 142-146
Author(s):  
Asmita Karmakar ◽  
Atanu Kumar Dogra
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
False Belief ◽  
False Belief Tasks

Effects of a Korean version of the metacognitive training program for outpatients with schizophrenia on theory of mind, positive symptoms, and interpersonal relationships

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-24
Author(s):  
Sungwon Park ◽  
Hye Kyung Lee ◽  
Hyunlye Kim
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Psychological Intervention ◽  
Symptom Relief ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Metacognitive Training ◽  
Korean Version ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Positive And Negative Symptoms

AbstractBackground:Since the significance of metacognition as the theoretical basis of a psychological intervention for schizophrenia first emerged, there have been ongoing attempts to restore or strengthen patients’ metacognitive abilities.Aim:A Korean version of the metacognitive training (MCT) program was developed, and its effects on theory of mind, positive and negative symptoms, and interpersonal relationships were examined in stable outpatients with schizophrenia.Method:A pre-test–post-test design with a control group was used. The participants were 59 outpatients (30 in experimental group, 29 in control group) registered at five mental health facilities in a city in South Korea. The developed MCT program was applied for a total of 18 sessions, 60 min per session, over a period of 14 weeks. The hinting task, false belief task, Scale for the Assessment of Positive and Negative Symptoms, and Relationship Change Scale were used to verify the effects of this program. Data were analysed by the chi-square test, t-test, and Mann–Whitney U-test using the SPSS/PASW 18.0 statistics program.Results:The general characteristics, intelligence, and outcome variables of the two groups were homogeneous. After the intervention, the experimental group showed significant improvements in theory of mind, positive and negative symptoms and interpersonal relationships compared with the control group.Conclusion:These results suggest that the MCT program can be a complementary psychotherapy that contributes to symptom relief and interpersonal functioning in patients with schizophrenia, and is effective in the Korean culture, beyond the Western context.

Theory of Mind

2019 ◽  
pp. 523-536
Author(s):  
Paula Rubio-Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Referential Communication ◽  
False Belief ◽  
Infants And Children ◽  
Standard Theory ◽  
Experimental Pragmatics ◽  
False Belief Tasks ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Belief Reasoning

Current accounts of Theory of Mind development have tried to explain the results of false-belief tasks with infants and children, but failed to account for the evidence of early belief reasoning reported in the experimental pragmatics literature. This chapter reviews a number of studies on the acquisition of the mental state verb know; toddlers’ understanding of factivity (or the difference between knowing and thinking); early referential communication and toddlers’ reliance on others’ engagement as a proxy for their knowledge, and the emergence of preschoolers’ understanding of the seeing-knowing relation. The results of these studies reveal a more nuanced picture than those of false-belief tasks, with some Theory of Mind abilities emerging earlier in conversation than in laboratory tasks, while children’s epistemic theories continue to develop beyond their passing of standard Theory of Mind tasks.

scholarly journals Developing children’s socio-emotional competencies through drama pedagogy training: An experimental study on theory of mind and collaborative behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 707-726
Author(s):  
Macarena-Paz Celume ◽  
Thalia Goldstein ◽  
Maud Besançon ◽  
Franck Zenasni
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
T Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Emotional Competencies ◽  
Collaborative Behavior ◽  
Type Of School ◽  
Experimental Group

Drama pedagogy training (DPT) is a drama-based-pedagogy focused on socio-emotional-learning (SEL) development, over academic or artistic. This study aims to see if DPT promotes theory of mind (ToM) and collaborative behavior in 126 French children aged 9-10 years old, randomly assigned to an experimental group (DPT), either a control group for 6 weeks. Post-tests showed large effects of training on ToM, F(1, 124) = 24.36, p < .001, η² =.16, and collaborative behavior, F(1, 124) = 29.8, p < .001, η² = .19. T-test showed significant differences on ToM (t = -4.94, p < .001) and collaborative behavior (t = -5.46, p < .001), higher for DPT. Effects of type of school and grade are discussed. Results confirm the hypotheses.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document