%0 Journal Article
%T Development of second
%A Anne Richards
%A Costanza Valentini
%A Massimiliano Papera
%A Paul van Geert
%J International Journal of Behavioral Development
%@ 1464-0651
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/0165025418824052
%X Theory of mind refers to the ability to attribute beliefs to oneself and others. The present study used a dynamic systems approach to assess how environment may affect the development of second-order theory of mind (e.g., ※John knows that Mary knows that he went out yesterday§). Theory of mind is divided into two major dimensions: comprehension (i.e., to understand a mental state) and prediction (i.e., to predict someone else＊s future behavior or mental state). Two age groups were assessed: 5每6- and 10每11-year-old children. In both age groups, participants were assigned to a condition of ※support§ (help provided) or ※no support§ (help not provided). Results show that second-order theory of mind follows a dynamic growth law that depends on support. Support facilitates performance in theory of mind production (i.e., to predict one＊s future behavior) for both the 5每6- and 10每11-year-old children. Interestingly, the 5每6-year-olds who received support presented an increase in the second-order prediction performance at the expense of the second-order comprehension, suggesting that a temporary dip in comprehension performance may facilitate the development of mental rules to predict one＊s future behavior
%K Development of second-order theory of mind
%K dynamic systems
%K environmental influences
%K comprehension of mental states
%K prediction of mental states
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0165025418824052