Early childhood development of theory of mind in typical and atypical samples: Associations with language and social abilities

Human social cognition is founded on the understanding that everyone has mental states. Having a theory of mind means that we can explain and make predictions about others’ actions (Premack & Woodruff, 1978). Throughout three decades of studies on theory of mind, we have had insights that the acquisition of this social cognition skill develops early in life (Scott & Baillargeon, 2009; Surian et al., 2007). However, much still remains to be known on theory of mind in young children (Wellman, 2018). Thus, the aim of this Symposium is to present recent findings on theory of mind and its associations with social-emotional and language abilities, as well as with socialization practices, in children from 2 to 5 years old with typical and atypical development. The first paper investigates the direction of effects among language, emotion knowledge, and theory of mind performances in 2- and 3-year-olds by adopting structural equation modeling analyses. The second paper focuses on children aged between 3 and 5 years old and compares their references to mental states at preschool when they are involved in three distinct storybook contexts by teachers. The third presentation reports a study on 3-year-old children with and without developmental language disorder, comparing their understanding of intentions, desires, and beliefs. Finally, the fourth paper analyzes visual, cognitive, and affective perspective taking in preschoolers who are victims of psychological maltreatment, and how these abilities are associated to prosocial behaviors and aggressiveness. This Symposium will offer an occasion to discuss the most recent findings on young children’s theory of mind, reflecting on new lines of research.