Theory of Mind Development in Adolescence and Early Adulthood: The Growing Complexity of Recursive Thinking Ability

Valle, Annalisa; Massaro, Davide; Castelli, Ilaria; Marchetti, Antonio

doi:10.5964/ejop.v11i1.829

Cited by 93 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Infants already possess ‘implicit’ mindreading capacities (Slaughter, 2015), treating themselves and others as intentional agents and experiencers; while older children understand lies and deception (Peterson and Siegal, 2002). Research shows that ToM development even prolongs into late adolescence (Dumontheil et al, 2010; Vetter et al, 2013; Valle et al, 2015). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-linearities in Theory-of-Mind Development

Blijd-Hoogewys

Geert

2017

Front. Psychol.

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Research on Theory-of-Mind (ToM) has mainly focused on ages of core ToM development. This article follows a quantitative approach focusing on the level of ToM understanding on a measurement scale, the ToM Storybooks, in 324 typically developing children between 3 and 11 years of age. It deals with the eventual occurrence of developmental non-linearities in ToM functioning, using smoothing techniques, dynamic growth model building and additional indicators, namely moving skewness, moving growth rate changes and moving variability. The ToM sum-scores showed an overall developmental trend that leveled off toward the age of 10 years. Within this overall trend two non-linearities in the group-based change pattern were found: a plateau at the age of around 56 months and a dip at the age of 72–78 months. These temporary regressions in ToM sum-score were accompanied by a decrease in growth rate and variability, and a change in skewness of the ToM data, all suggesting a developmental shift in ToM understanding. The temporary decreases also occurred in the different ToM sub-scores and most clearly so in the core ToM component of beliefs. It was also found that girls had an earlier growth spurt than boys and that the underlying developmental path was more salient in girls than in boys. The consequences of these findings are discussed from various theoretical points of view, with an emphasis on a dynamic systems interpretation of the underlying developmental paths.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-linearities in Theory-of-Mind Development

Blijd-Hoogewys

Geert

2017

Front. Psychol.

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“…Teachers in the experimental condition were trained on how to promote mentalizing skills through the adoption of everyday school teaching strategies and were then left free to propose to their pupils these activities when and how they preferred. Findings showed that only children in the experimental group improved their performance on third‐order false‐belief understanding (Valle, Massaro, Castelli, & Marchetti, ) and on two subcomponents of the Mentalizing task (Sharp, Croudace, & Goodyer, ). Overall, then, this study showed that even if teachers were not instructed to follow detailed scripts and procedures, they are able to successfully promote their pupils' mind‐reading.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing advanced Theory of Mind skills in primary school: A training study with 7‐ to 8‐year‐olds

Bianco

Lombardi

Massaro

et al. 2019

Infant and Child Development

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Recent evidence showed that it is possible to help children's Theory of Mind (ToM) development during preschool and middle childhood. This study aimed to promote advanced mentalizing skills in children attending Year 2 of primary school through a ToM training programme based on narratives followed by multiple‐choice questions and conversations about mental states. Participants were 49 children, aged between 7 and 8 years (Mage = 7.6 years; SD = 3.98 months), assigned to the experimental (27 children, 11 boys) or to the control condition (22 children, 7 boys). The two groups were matched at pretest for age, ToM, socio‐economic background, reading comprehension, and executive functioning. The classroom‐training programme was delivered by an experimenter in four sessions (each 50 min long). The ToM group improved ToM skills significantly more than the control group both in the practiced and in the transfer ToM task. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed. Highlights We developed and tested the efficacy of a training programme for improving theory of mind skills in children aged 7–8 years. The ToM training programme was effective in promoting advanced ToM skills at school in children aged 7–8 years. The study fits with the experiential‐learning account according to which social and pedagogical experiences shape socio‐cognitive development.

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“…Theory of mind develops during childhood and continues to evolve in adolescence (Valle et al, 2015) and adulthood (Apperly et al, 2009; Sommerville et al, 2013). According to a socio-constructivist approach, theory of mind emerges within contexts of social interactions, thanks to the participation in social exchanges (Astington and Olson, 1995; Carpendale and Lewis, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting Mentalizing in Pupils by Acting on Teachers: Preliminary Italian Evidence of the “Thought in Mind” Project

et al. 2016

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Mentalization research focuses on different aspects of this topic, highlighting individual differences in mentalizing and proposing programs of intervention for children and adults to increase this ability. The “Thought in Mind Project” (TiM Project) provides training targeted to adults—teachers or parents—to increase their mentalization and, consequently, to obtain mentalization improvement in children. The present research aimed to explore for the first time ever the potential of training for teachers based on the TiM Project, regarding the enhancement of mentalizing of an adult who would have interacted as a teacher with children. For this reason, two teachers – similar for meta-cognitive and meta-emotional skills - and their classes (N = 46) were randomly assigned to the training or control condition. In the first case, the teacher participated in training on the implementation of promotion of mentalizing in everyday school teaching strategies; in the second case the teacher participated in a control activity, similar to training for scheduling and methods, but without promoting the implementation of mentalization (in both conditions two meetings lasting about 3 h at the beginning of the school year and two supervisions during the school year were conducted). The children were tested by tasks assessing several aspects of mentalization (second and third-order false belief understanding, Strange Stories, Reading the mind in the Eyes, Mentalizing Task) both before and after the teacher participate in the TiM or control training (i.e., at the beginning and at the end of the school year). The results showed that, although some measured components of mentalization progressed over time, only the TiM Project training group significantly improved in third order false belief understanding and changed - in a greater way compared to the control group – in two of the three components of the Mentalizing Task. These evidences are promising about the idea that the creation of a mentalizing community promotes the mentalization abilities of its members.

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Theory of Mind Development in Adolescence and Early Adulthood: The Growing Complexity of Recursive Thinking Ability

Cited by 93 publications

References 37 publications

Non-linearities in Theory-of-Mind Development

Non-linearities in Theory-of-Mind Development

Enhancing advanced Theory of Mind skills in primary school: A training study with 7‐ to 8‐year‐olds

Promoting Mentalizing in Pupils by Acting on Teachers: Preliminary Italian Evidence of the “Thought in Mind” Project

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