3-084 - New Ways of Investigating Parental Influences on Children's Theory of MInd

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Children’s ability to represent the mental states of others or ‘theory of mind’ (ToM) has been likened to the process of learning to read. Both skills take time to develop and are mastered through interactions with more skilful adults and peers (Heyes & Frith, 2014). For more than two decades researchers have investigated the relations between a range of parental characteristics (e.g., parental sensitivity and responsiveness, parents’ use of mental-state language, and parents’ mind-mindedness) and individual differences in children’s ToM (Hughes & Devine, 2015). These studies have given rise to ‘social’ accounts of theory-of-mind development which emphasise the important role that social experiences play in the development of ToM. A recent review (Hughes & Devine, in press) has highlighted that, despite an abundance of research on the parental correlates of children’s ToM, the lion’s share of this work has centered almost exclusively on single measures of parental influence (and more specifically, maternal influence), data from single cultures, and data from single children within a family. This symposium focuses on four studies using novel ways to investigate parental influences on children’s ToM through: (1) comparing different parental predictors of children’s ToM; (2) examining the role of paternal (as opposed to maternal) influences on children’s ToM; (3) using within-family designs to determine whether parental factors are causally related to ToM development; and (4) using cross-cultural research to ascertain the universality of parental influences on children’s ToM. These innovative designs will shed new light on social accounts of children’s ToM development.

Sub Unit

• Social Cognition

Chair

• Rory Thomas Devine, University of Cambridge

Individual Presentations

• Comparing Parental Predictors of Children’s Theory of Mind: A Longitudinal Study - Presenting Author: Rory Thomas Devine, University of Cambridge; Claire Hughes, University of Cambridge

• Birth Order in Children's Theory of Mind Development - Presenting Author: Jennifer Jenkins, University of Toronto; Heather Prime, University of Toronto

• The Socialisation of Theory of Mind in Iran and New Zealand - Presenting Author: Mele Taumoepeau, University of Otago; Sanam Sadeghi, University of Otago; Ashlie Nobilo, University of Otago

• Paternal and Maternal Contributions to Preschool Children’s Theory of Mind: The Role of Interactional Attunement - Presenting Author: Brenda L. Lundy, Indiana University-Purdue University Ft. Wayne