Theory of Mind and Moral Theme Comprehension in Preschool Children Ages 3-4

• Main Author: Shpizner, Cara A
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarship @ Claremont 2014
• Subjects: Theory of mind; moral development; moral theme comprehension; Child Psychology; Cognitive Psychology; Developmental Psychology
• Online Access: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/393; http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1402&context=scripps_theses

Research suggests that there is a relationship between theory of mind and moral development in young children. However, the nature of this relationship is still unclear, specifically in regards to the relationship between theory of mind and moral theme comprehension, which has yet to be studied. The current study attempted to begin to fill this gap in the research by examining the relationship between 8 preschool children’s false belief understanding, as determined by the Sally-Anne task, and moral theme comprehension. Results were not significant, but suggest a trend that children who pass the false belief task may be more able to understand the moral themes of stories. A larger sample size and further research on this topic is necessary.