A training program to enhance second-order false belief understanding in children aged 7/8

• In Event: Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Topic - Social Cognition

Abstract

Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to acknowledge the existence of mental states and to refer to these inner states in explaining the reasons behind social behaviour (Premack & Woodruff, 1978; Wimmer & Perner, 1983). ToM plays a crucial role in children’s wellbeing and academic adjustment (Lecce, Caputi, & Pagnin, 2014; Wellman, 2018). For these reasons, the issue of how best prompting children’s ToM at school has started to attract researchers’ attention (Bianco & Lecce, 2016; Ornaghi, Brockmeier, & Grazzani, 2014; Valle et al., 2016).
Following this strand of research, this study aimed to promote second-order false belief understanding (II-order-FBU) in children attending Grade 2 of Italian primary school. To address this aim, we designed a training program based on narratives followed by multiple-choice questions and conversations about mental states. II-order-FBU is a key ToM achievement occurring between the end of preschool years and middle childhood and previous studies showed that in first years of primary school children show interindividual variability in levels of ToM displayed (Massaro, Castelli, Sanvito, & Marchetti, 2014).
Participants were 57 children, aged between 7 and 8 years (M age = 7.65 years; SD = 4.13 months), assigned to either the experimental (28 children, 13 boys) or to the control condition (27 children, 11 boys). At pre-test the two groups did not significantly differ for control variables (socio-economic background, reading comprehension, verbal ability, and executive functioning), ts(53) ≥ 0.05, .19 ≤ ps ≤ .96, and for ToM, ps ≥ .144, measured via the Strange Stories Task (Happé, 1994; White et al., 2009) and 2nd-order-FBU tasks (Astington et al., 2002; Liverta Sempio, Marchetti, Castelli, Lecciso, & Pezzotta, 2005; Perner & Wimmer, 1985; Sullivan et al., 1994). The classroom-training programs were delivered by an experimenter in four sessions (each 50 minutes long). The experimental group improved II-order-FBU skills significantly more than the control group, F(1, 53) = 4.44, p = .040 (See Figure 1). This positive effect generalized to a more advanced test of ToM, namely the Strange Stories task, F(1, 53) = 5.90, p = .019 (See Figure 2).
Our findings suggest that it is possible to enhance II-order-FBU through activities that are easily incorporable into daily instructional activities. Our results also speak to theoretical issues as they demonstrate that II-order-FBU contribute to acquire more advanced forms of mindreading such as the ones implied in processing complex social scenarios.

Authors

• Elisabetta Lombardi, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC)
  Presenting Author

• Federica Bianco, University of Bergamo
  Non-Presenting Author

• Serena Lecce, University of Pavia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Antonella Marchetti, Università cattolica del Sacro Cuore
  Non-Presenting Author

• Davide Massaro, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
  Non-Presenting Author

• Annalisa Valle, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ilaria Castelli, University of Bergamo
  Non-Presenting Author