CAN THEORY OF MIND IMPROVE YOUNG CHILDREN’S STRATEGIC BEHAVIOUR?

Abstract

Previous training studies, though limited, have shown that two components of theory of mind – knowledge access and false belief – lead to the development of strategic behaviour in young children. However, there is reasonable speculation that another component, diverse beliefs, also plays a role in children’s use of strategy. The present study thus examined the effect of these three theory-of-mind components within the context of a hide-and-seek game. One hundred and twenty-nine three-year-old children were assigned to four training conditions (i.e., control, diverse beliefs, knowledge access, and false belief) based on their prior theory-of-mind competence. They either received training on conservation rules (control condition) or one of the theory-of-mind concepts (experimental condition). Results revealed that children who received the theory-of-mind trainings did not improve significantly more in the posttest strategic behaviour task than children in the control condition. Nevertheless, knowledge-access and false-belief trainings improved children’s knowledge-access and false-belief understanding respectively, with the former being significantly better at doing so. The current findings do not support the existing literature on the causal relationship between theory of mind and strategic behaviour. However, they still serve as a guideline for caregivers to promote children’s theory-of-mind ability effectively.