Maternal Mind–Mindedness and Attachment Security as Predictors of Theory of Mind Understanding

Abstract

This study investigated relations between social interaction during infancy and children's subsequent theory of mind (ToM). Infant-mother pairs (N = 57) were observed in a free-play context at 6 months. Interactions were coded for (a) mothers' use of mental state language that commented appropriately on the infants' mental states, and (b) mothers' use of mental state language that did not appropriately reflect their infants' minds. A third variable was (c) security of attachment, which was assessed using the Strange Situation procedure at 12 months. Performance on a battery of ToM tasks at 45 and 48 months was positively correlated with (a), but was not related to (b) or (c). A regression analysis showed that mothers' use of appropriate mental state comments independently predicted overall ToM performance, accounting for 11% of the variance. Children's verbal ability was the only other independent predictor of ToM performance, accounting for 16% of the variance. These findings represent the earliest known social predictor of individual differences in ToM.

Constructing an understanding of mind: The development of children's social understanding within social interaction

“…Meins's explanation for the connection between attachment security and social cognitive development is that the same parental characteristic that results in secure attachment also results in the "exposure of the infant to mental state language" (p. 337). She found that maternal child-centered (mindminded) language (but not mindminded language about other people) to 6-month-olds predicted children's false belief performance at age 4 (Meins et al 2002). This evidence requires an explanation of how exposure to mental state language influences social development, which is what we have provided here.…”

“…In order for children to benefit most from social interaction in constructing a ToM, the interlocutor should be sensitive to and cognisant of the child's current state of mind. For example, in one of our longitudinal studies on the social determinants of ToM performance, we found that mothers' use of mental state language that commented appropriately on their 6-month-olds' putative mental states was an independent predictor of children's ToM performance at age 4 (Meins et al 2002). In contrast, indices of the general quality of the mother-infant relationship (maternal sensitivity and attachment security) did not predict children's subsequent ToM.…”

“…For example, the findings of Meins et al (2002) are intriguing, but how is it that mothers' tendency to talk about their infants in psychological terms is positively associated with their child's understanding of false beliefs almost four years later? What is it about the nature of these parents' interactions with their infants that correlates with the development of social understanding?…”

“…9) can become transformed into a fully fledged TOM. Third, Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky 1934) provides a framework for understanding how sensitive input from caregivers can "scaffold" children's acquisition of mental state terms and concepts (Meins et al 2002). Fourth, Vygotsky's idea that language can be used as a psychological tool (Vygotsky 1930(Vygotsky /1978 in augmenting pre-existing cognitive capacities suggests that private and inner speech may play important roles in mediating children's own reflections on the nature of mental states and processes (Meins et al 2003).…”

Maternal Mind-Mindedness and Children’s Behavioral Difficulties: Mitigating the Impact of Low Socioeconomic Status

“…Mind-mindedness is associated with a range of positive child outcomes. Higher levels of caregiver mind-mindedness in the first year of life are known to predict secure caregiver-child attachment (Arnott & Meins, 2007;Lundy, 2003;Meins et al, 2001; and superior performance on theory of mind tasks at ages 2 (Laranjo, Bernier, Meins, & Carlson, 2010) and 4 (Meins et al, 2002(Meins et al, , 2003). But mind-mindedness is unrelated to children's temperament (Meins, Fernyhough, Arnott, Turner, & Leekam, 2011) and general cognitive ability (e.g., Meins et al, 2001), suggesting that individual infant characteristics do not determine caregivers' mind-mindedness.…”