Previous findings on the association between theory of mind (ToM) and aggression in children are mixed. The "social skills deficit view" regarded ToM as a "single-edged sword" and proposed that a lack of ToM can lead to aggression, while the "double-edged sword view" proposed that children with advanced ToM can still…

The current study investigated the link between social competence with peers (SCWP) and theory of mind (ToM) skills among Chinese preschool children. Using a sample of 363 Chinese children aged 3-5 (Mage = 4.54 years, SD = 0.84, 183 boys), this cross-sectional study demonstrates that children's SCWP, as reported by teachers, was significantly…

This study investigated the links between theory of mind, social motivation, and children's social competence in middle childhood and early adolescence. Two hundred and sixty four children (136 girls, 128 boys) aged between 8 and 13 years (M Age = 10.88 years, SD = 1.45) completed theory-of-mind tests and self-report questionnaires measuring…

Background: It can be very challenging for practitioners to talk with autistic children, especially when the conversation calls for self-regulation. Self-regulation is inextricably linked to awareness of oneself and others in social contexts. Encouraging the need for autonomy could help increase self-awareness and awareness of others in social…

This two-year follow-up study examined the predictive relationships of theory of mind (ToM) to social interaction by reciprocal social behaviors (RSBs) and social functioning (SF) in 106 children with ASD. The results of the path analysis showed that the earlier ToM predicted children's current component RSBs (B = 3.53, SE = 1.86, p = 0.039) and…

Discussions surrounding early years' theorist Piaget's philosophy of learning schema styles and their potential impact upon children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder will be highlighted within this position paper. Furthermore, this paper will also focus on the need for a Schematic Driven Pedagogy implementation to connect both…

Background: The conceptualisation of autism as a disorder where Theory of Mind (ToM) and pragmatics are fundamentally impaired has prompted a wealth of research on autistic deficits, most of which is characterised by two main assumptions: first, that autistic people would display said deficits, if present, with any conversation partner and in any…

The positive links between children's theory of mind (ToM), emotion understanding, and positive peer relationships are well established. However, the existing literature lacks comprehensive studies investigating the longitudinal interplay between these components in preschool-aged children. This study aimed to fill this gap by examining the…

Intercultural Understanding and Personal and Social Capability are two General Capabilities in the Australian Curriculum. However, the level of engagement anticipated by students in addressing these general capabilities across the learning continua provided in the curriculum differs significantly both in terms of the cognitive level expected of…

This study aimed to examine the effects of rater, age and gender on the relationship between theory of mind (ToM) and preschoolers' social competence with peers (SCP). A sample of 152 Chinese urban children aged 4 to 6 years (78 boys and 74 girls) were given ToM scale. Their SCP was measured by teacher report and parent report. There were three…

We examined theory of mind (ToM; mental state understanding) and language in children with epilepsy (EP; n = 10; mean age = 9.92, SD = 2.34) and with typical development (TD; n = 20; mean age = 10.05, SD = 2.08). The EP group demonstrated worse ToM compared to the TD group (t(28) = -1.11, p = 0.28, d = 0.44) but differences did not persist when…

The Integrated self-categorization model of autism (ISCA) argues that a self-categorization dysfunction could be the link between some of the disparate features of ASD. To the extent that this is true, any social psychological phenomena arising from self-categorization should be impaired in autistic people. Based on this premise, we investigated…

Research Findings: The Children's Social Understanding Scale (CSUS) assesses young children's theory of mind (ToM). The current study adapted the parent version of the CSUS-short form to Turkish and examined its utility, for the first time, as an assessment tool for teachers. The associations of parent and teacher reports of the CSUS-short form…

This study examined the cognitive correlates of reciprocity in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A total of 59 children with ASD were assessed with the Interactive Drawing Task, Theory of Mind Task Battery, Children's Card Change Sort Task, and Children's Gambling Task respectively for their reciprocity, theory of mind, cool executive…

This meta-analysis tested whether autistic people show a marked, isolated difficulty with mentalising when assessed using the Frith-Happé Animations, an advanced test of mentalising (or 'theory of mind'). Effect sizes were aggregated in multivariate meta-analysis from 33 papers reporting data for over 3000 autistic and non-autistic people.…