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Scaling of Theory-of-Mind Tasks
Child Development
Short Title: Child Development
Format: Journal Article
Publication Date: 2004/03/01/
Pages: 523 - 541
Sources ID: 39216
Notes: doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00691.x
Collection: Theory of Mind
Visibility: Public (group default)
Abstract: (Show)
Two studies address the sequence of understandings evident in preschoolers' developing theory of mind. The first, preliminary study provides a meta-analysis of research comparing different types of mental state understandings (e.g., desires vs. beliefs, ignorance vs. false belief). The second, primary study tests a theory-of-mind scale for preschoolers. In this study 75 children (aged 2 years, 11 months to 6 years, 6 months) were tested on 7 tasks tapping different aspects of understanding persons' mental states. Responses formed a consistent developmental progression, where for most children if they passed a later item they passed all earlier items as well, as confirmed by Guttman and Rasch measurement model analyses.