Complements to cognition: A longitudinal study of the relationship between complex syntax and false-belief-understanding
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Language comprehension, particularly the identification and understanding of complement syntax and/or mental (state) verbs, is a fundamental mechanism in human childhood ToM development.
“which emphasizes language comprehension particularly the identification and understanding of complement syntax and/or mental (state) verbs - as a fundamental mechanism in human childhood ToM development (Astington and Jenkins, 1999; De Villiers and Pyers, 2002; De Villiers, 2007; Milligan et al., 2007; De Villiers and De Villiers, 2014).”
From Can "consciousness" be observed from large language model (LLM) internal states? Dissecting LLM representations obtained from Theory of Mind test with Integrated Information Theory and Span Representation analysis (2025) · cites this paper as De Villiers and Pyers, 2002
Language comprehension, particularly the ability to identify and understand complement syntax and mental (state) verbs in sentences, is crucial for the development of ToM in human childhood.
“Language comprehension, particularly the ability to identify and understand complement syntax and mental (state) verbs in sentences, is crucial for the development of ToM in human childhood (Astington and Jenkins, 1999; De Villiers and Pyers, 2002; De Villiers, 2007; Milligan et al., 2007; De Villiers and De Villiers, 2014).”
From Can "consciousness" be observed from large language model (LLM) internal states? Dissecting LLM representations obtained from Theory of Mind test with Integrated Information Theory and Span Representation analysis (2025) · cites this paper as De Villiers and Pyers, 2002
Cites
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Three-year-olds’ difficulty with false belief: The case for a conceptual deficit
Perner, J., Leekam, S. R., & Wimmer, H. (1987) · British Journal of Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-835x.1987.tb01048.x · Cited by 1,550 · see citing works
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Milligan, K., Astington, J. W., & Dack, L. A. (2007) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01018.x · Cited by 1,248 · see citing works
Attribution of Beliefs by 13-Month-Old Infants
Surian, L., Caldi, S., & Sperber, D. (2007) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01943.x · Cited by 811 · see citing works
The cognitive functions of language
Carruthers, P. (2002) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x02000122 · Cited by 728 · see citing works
Understanding Other Minds: Linking Developmental Psychology and Functional Neuroimaging
Saxe, R., Carey, S., & Kanwisher, N. (2004) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.142044 · Cited by 726 · see citing works
Language and theory of mind: a study of deaf children
Schick, B., De Villiers, P., De Villiers, J., & Hoffmeister, R. (2007) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01004.x · Cited by 585 · see citing works
Self-citationThe interface of language and theory of mind
de Villiers, J. (2007) · Lingua · doi:10.1016/j.lingua.2006.11.006 · Cited by 457 · see citing works
Self-citationSocial cognition and the evolution of language: constructing cognitive phylogenies
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“The second system is cortically driven, and is present in humans (and perhaps other species with voluntary control over complex, learned vocalizations), but not other primates (cf. Deacon, 1992; Jürgens, 1998; Jürgens et al., 1982; Myers, 1976).”
Language Promotes False-Belief Understanding: Evidence From Learners of a New Sign Language
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What's domain-specific about theory of mind?
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Intact first- and second-order false belief reasoning in a patient with severely impaired grammar
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Relating developments in children's counterfactual thinking and executive functions
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Theory of mind, language and the temporoparietal junction mystery
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- Authors
- de Villiers, J. G., & Pyers, J. E.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- ORCID
- Pyers, Jennie E.
- Venue
- Cognitive Development
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2002-01
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1037-1060
- ISSN
- 0885-2014 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2098767455
- Cited by
- 661
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 79 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 29 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 28 · 2014: 32 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 23
- FWCI
- 33.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Cognitive Development (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
- Keywords
- false belief understanding, theory of mind, complex syntax, language development, preschool children, language comprehension, language production
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Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
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