Psychological Science 2006

Scaling of Theory-of-Mind Understandings in Chinese Children

Henry M. Wellman¹; Fang Fuxi^2,3; David Liu⁴; Liqi Zhu^3,5; Guoxiong Liu^3,5

¹ University of Michigan–Ann Arbor · ² Chinese Academy of Social Sciences · ³ Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences · ⁴ University of Washington · ⁵ Institute of Physics

Abstract

Prior research demonstrates that understanding of theory of mind develops at different paces in children raised in different cultures. Are these differences simply differences in timing, or do they represent different patterns of cultural learning? That is, to what extent are sequences of theory-of-mind understanding universal, and to what extent are they culture-specific? We addressed these questions by using a theory-of-mind scale to examine performance of 140 Chinese children living in Beijing and to compare their performance with that of 135 English-speaking children living in the United States and Australia. Results reveal a common sequence of understanding, as well as sociocultural differences in children's developing theories of mind.

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01830.x

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