ERIC Number: EJ1346712
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
EISSN: EISSN-1467-8624
Could, Would, Should: Theory of Mind and Deontic Reasoning in Tongan Children
Taumoepeau, Mele; Kata, 'Ungatea Fonua; Veikune, 'Ana Heti; Lotulelei, Susana; Vea, Peseti Tupou'ila; Fonua, 'Ilaisaane
Child Development, v93 n5 p1511-1526 Sep-Oct 2022
This study examined the developmental profiles of children's social reasoning about individual agentive and deontic concerns. Tongan children (N = 140, 47.9% male), aged 4-8 years, were given a set of mentalistic (standard theory-of-mind) and deontic reasoning tasks. On average, children found diverse desires, knowledge access, hidden emotion, and belief emotion easier than the false-belief and diverse belief tasks. Tongan children were sensitive to social norms governing behavior, and this information was recruited for predicting behavior in a false-belief task when embedded in a socially normative context. We discuss the potential for cultural mandates to shape children's social understanding and the impact of culture on our theoretical framing of children's development.
Descriptors: Young Children, Foreign Countries, Social Development, Logical Thinking, Child Development, Thinking Skills, Beliefs, Behavior Standards, Social Behavior, Cultural Influences
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Tonga
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A