I Share Because I’m Aware: Theory of Mind and Concealment in Early Adolescence

• In Event: Deception as theory of mind in action: Developmental and methodological considerations

Abstract

Introduction. During a developmental period of transition, early adolescents make many decisions about which information to disclose to others, such as friends and parents, and which information to conceal through keeping a secret or lying to cover the information. It may be that their ability and awareness to perceive social situations, or theory of mind (ToM), is associated with their decisions to conceal or disclose information as they place themselves in the other person’s position to determine whether sharing the information would be beneficial for themselves and for the relationship.

Aims and Method. The current study explored the types of situations that early adolescents (N = 90, M = 12.81 years, SD = 5.10 months, range 12-14 years, 58% female) endorse concealing or disclosing to friends and parents, in relation to ToM. Our aims were to determine (1) how they tend to conceal information, (2) whether this varies according to the disclosure recipient (parent versus friend) and type of information (embarrassing information, self-incriminating information etc.), and (3) whether ToM predicted differences in concealment preferences. Participants completed two measures of ToM (second-order false-location tasks; Hogrefe et al., 1986; Sullivan et al., 1994; Reading the Mind in the Eyes test; Baron-Cohen et al., 2001), and three measures of concealment or disclosure (twelve motivations to conceal vignettes; Youth Disclosure Scale; Smetana et al., 2006; Self-Concealment Scale; Larson & Chastain, 1990).

Results. A visual breakdown of concealment responses is provided in Figure 1. We examined whether ToM was associated with patterns of concealment and disclosure using linear regression modeling for each of our outcomes, given there were no strong correlations between them (i.e., suggesting they are distinct aspects of concealment). Gender, ToM false location and ToM mental state scores were the predictors for each model. Two models were significant and are reported below. Non-significant findings will also be presented.
The model predicting overall tendency to conceal from friends was significant, F(3, 86) = 3.78, p = .014, R2 = .12. ToM mental state was a significant predictor, b = -.03, SE = .01, p = .014 [95% CI -.05, -0.01], such that with increasing ability to infer complex mental states, adolescents were more likely to be more forthcoming with their friends (see Table 1 for model information).
The model predicting concealment measures to protect the self was also significant, F(3, 87) = 4.67, p = .005, R2 = .14. Children with higher ToM (both measures) were more likely to be forthcoming with friends and parents in scenarios in which self-protection were motivating factors to use concealment methods.

Conclusion. We found that ToM was associated with a tendency to endorse being forthcoming and sharing information with both friends and parents, with an emphasis on situations in which self-protection would be a motivating factor to use concealment. These findings suggest that, in early adolescence, mentalizing abilities may be used to regulate information-sharing to build relationships of trust.

Authors

• Jennifer Lavoie, University of Edinburgh
  Presenting Author

• Victoria Talwar, McGill University
  Non-Presenting Author