Successful social interactions are assumed to depend on theory of mind--the ability to represent others' mental states--yet most studies of the relation between theory of mind and social-interactive success rely on non-interactive tasks that do not adequately capture the "spontaneous" engagement of theory of mind, a crucial component of…

Scientific literature indicates that theory of mind (ToM) is less strongly associated with peer acceptance (PA) in the case of boys and the case of negative nominations. This study hypothesizes that these two effects of ToM on PA could be an epiphenomenon of counterfactual reasoning (CFR). Fifty-three 3-5-year-olds participated in this study. The…

The present study investigates whether social interaction moderates age-related deterioration of theory of mind (ToM) abilities. The study population consists of 65 Israeli adults aged 19-102 with varying degrees of self-reported social interaction. It is hypothesized that as age increases, success at ToM-related tasks will decrease. Second, it is…

This study investigated relations among children's Theory-of-Mind (ToM) development, early sibling interactions, and parental discipline strategies during the transition to siblinghood. Using a sample of firstborn children and their parents (N = 208), we assessed children's ToM before the birth of a sibling and 12 months after the birth, and…

This study investigated the motivational and social-cognitive foundations (i.e., inequality aversion, in-group bias, and theory of mind) that underlie the development of sharing behavior among 3- to 9-year-old Chinese children (N = 122). Each child played two mini-dictator games against an in-group member (friend) and an out-group member…

This study aimed to explore the imitation abilities of children with autism that require intersubjective interaction with the person modeling the action. The relationships between these types of imitation with other developmental skills were also examined. Results showed that during the same time point, children that were better at intersubjective…

Temperament dimensions influence children's approach to and participation in social interactive experiences which reflect and impact children's social understandings. Therefore, temperament differences might substantially impact theory-of-mind development in early childhood. Using longitudinal data, we report that certain early temperament…

Children with Asperger syndrome (AS) have IQ within the normal range but specific impairments in theory of mind, social interaction and communication skills. The majority receive education in mainstream schools and research suggests they are bullied more than typically developing peers. The current study aimed to evaluate factors that predict…