Developmental continuity in theory of mind: speed and accuracy of belief-desire reasoning in children and adults
Abstract
On belief-desire reasoning tasks, children first pass tasks involving true belief before those involving false belief, and tasks involving positive desire before those involving negative desire. The current study examined belief-desire reasoning in participants old enough to pass all such tasks. Eighty-three 6- to 11-year-olds and 20 adult participants completed simple, computer-based tests of belief-desire reasoning, which recorded response times as well as error rates. Both measures suggested that, like young children, older children and adults find it more difficult to reason about false belief and negative desires than true beliefs and positive desires. It is argued that this developmental continuity is most consistent with either executive competence or executive performance accounts of the development of belief-desire reasoning.
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Difficulties in cognitive perspective taking are generally found to be much larger in children.
“in turn, difficulties in such cognitive perspective taking are generally found to be much larger in children”
From Age-related differences in function and structure of rSMG and reduced functional connectivity with DLPFC explains heightened emotional egocentricity bias in childhood (2015) · cites this paper as Apperly et al., 2011
The ability to attribute beliefs and desires to others incongruent to one's own is protracted and continues into adulthood.
“However, behavioral evidence suggests that the ability to attribute beliefs and desires to others incongruent to one's own is protracted and continues into adulthood”
From Age-related differences in function and structure of rSMG and reduced functional connectivity with DLPFC explains heightened emotional egocentricity bias in childhood (2015) · cites this paper as Apperly et al., 2011
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- Authors
- Apperly, I. A., Warren, F., Andrews, B. J., Grant, J., & Todd, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Birmingham (GB)
- University of Reading (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Apperly, Ian A
- ORCID
- Apperly, Ian A
- Venue
- Child Development
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2011-09-01
- Volume
- 82
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1691-1703
- ISSN
- 0009-3920 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-8624
- OpenAlex
- W2121897714
- Cited by
- 97
- References
- 80
- Citations by year
- 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 12.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Child Development (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Social Robot Interaction and HRI
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
- Keywords
- theory of mind, belief-desire reasoning, false belief, true belief, developmental continuity, executive function, reaction time (psychology), error rate, children, adults
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Child, Child Development, Culture, Humans, Judgment, Motivation, Problem Solving, Reaction Time, Reality Testing, Young Adult, Executive Function, Theory of Mind
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