socio-cognitive development II Flashcards
(21 cards)
What is Theory of Mind (ToM)?
The capacity to attribute mental states (e.g., desires, beliefs, knowledge) to others to predict or explain behavior.
At what age does false belief (FB) understanding develop significantly?
Between ages 3 and 5 (Wellman, Cross & Watson, 2001).
What percentage of children pass false belief tasks at 44 and 56 months?
50% at 44 months, 75% at 56 months.
Is ToM understanding stable over time?
Yes (Devine et al., 2016).
How is ToM related to popularity?
Weak but significant correlation (r = .19); stronger for girls (.30) than boys (.12) (Slaughter et al., 2015).
How is ToM related to prosocial behaviour?
r = .19; consistent across gender and behaviours like helping, comforting, and sharing (Imuta et al., 2016).
What factors were measured at age 5 in relation to friendship?
False-belief understanding, emotion understanding, prosocial behaviour, sociometric status, delay of gratification, and reciprocated friendship.
What were the friendship trajectories from age 5 to 7?
+/+ Stable mutual friend (n = 46)
-/+ Gains friend (n = 20)
+/- Loses friend (n = 21)
-/- Chronic friendless (n = 9)
What predicts chronic friendlessness from ages 5 to 7?
Slow ToM development in the first year of school.
How long was ToM studied in relation to peer rejection/acceptance?
Longitudinally over 3 years with 210 children.
Is Theory of Mind inherently prosocial?
No—ToM is socially neutral and can support both prosocial and antisocial behaviours.
What kind of behaviours are linked more strongly to poor self-control/emotion regulation than poor ToM?
Aggressive behaviours (Hughes et al., 2000; de Rosnay et al., 2008).
What is bullying defined as by Olweus (2013)?
Repeated strategic aggression intended to harm, occurring in a power-imbalanced relationship.
How can ToM support bullying?
Perpetrators may use strong ToM to manipulate or exploit victims.
What did Fink et al. (2020) find about ToM and bullying?
ToM is indirectly linked to bullying via social preference and directly linked to later bullying.
What did Lee & Imuta (2021) meta-analysis find about ToM and lying?
ToM is associated with all aspects of lying.
Which aspect of lying is most strongly related to ToM?
Lie maintenance.
Is lying more related to first or second-order ToM?
First-order ToM.
Were there cultural differences in the relationship between ToM and lying?
No significant differences based on culture or valence of the lie.
How does ToM influence children’s reactions to criticism?
Children with better ToM are more sensitive and may rate their own performance more negatively (Cutting & Dunn, 2002).
Why is feedback from teachers important despite children’s sensitivity to criticism?
It supports the development of academic skills like reading and writing.
