A Longitudinal Study of Belief and Desire State Discourse during Mother-Child Play and Later False Belief Understanding

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Bibliographic Details
Title: A Longitudinal Study of Belief and Desire State Discourse during Mother-Child Play and Later False Belief Understanding
Language: English
Authors: Symons, Douglas K., Fossum, Kristin-Lee M., Collins, T. B. Kate
Source: Social Development. Nov 2006 15(4):676-692.
Availability: Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Physical Description: PDF
Page Count: 17
Publication Date: 2006
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Theory of Mind, Play, Socioeconomic Status, Mothers, Child Language, Cognitive Development, Longitudinal Studies, Role, Discourse Analysis, Parent Child Relationship, Cognitive Processes, Correlation
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2006.00364.x
ISSN: 0961-205X
Abstract: There is considerable interest in the role of mental state language in theory of mind development. This study examines cognitive and desire state discourse of 43 mothers during play interactions with their two-year-old children and theory of mind as indicated by a battery of false belief tasks around the age of five. Desire state comments of mothers during free play which were appropriate to the conversational context were significantly related to children's later theory of mind, and this relation was independent of other confounding variables, including a home-based measure of maternal sensitivity, and socio-economic status, and an estimate of child language. The child's desire state language was concurrently related to the mother's desire state language used appropriately, and the child's cognitive state language was related to the mother's appropriate cognitive state language. Although cognitive state language was not predictive of later theory of mind, this may be because this kind of language plays a later role in theory of mind development.
Abstractor: As Provided
Number of References: 52
Entry Date: 2011
Accession Number: EJ942069
Database: ERIC
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Abstract:There is considerable interest in the role of mental state language in theory of mind development. This study examines cognitive and desire state discourse of 43 mothers during play interactions with their two-year-old children and theory of mind as indicated by a battery of false belief tasks around the age of five. Desire state comments of mothers during free play which were appropriate to the conversational context were significantly related to children's later theory of mind, and this relation was independent of other confounding variables, including a home-based measure of maternal sensitivity, and socio-economic status, and an estimate of child language. The child's desire state language was concurrently related to the mother's desire state language used appropriately, and the child's cognitive state language was related to the mother's appropriate cognitive state language. Although cognitive state language was not predictive of later theory of mind, this may be because this kind of language plays a later role in theory of mind development.
ISSN:0961-205X
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2006.00364.x