The curious relation between theory of mind and sharing in preschool age children. 2015

Jason M Cowell, and Anya Samek, and John List, and Jean Decety
Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.

Young children have long been known to act selfishly and gradually appear to become more generous across middle childhood. While this apparent change has been well documented, the underlying mechanisms supporting this remain unclear. The current study examined the role of early theory of mind and executive functioning in facilitating sharing in a large sample (N = 98) of preschoolers. Results reveal a curious relation between early false-belief understanding and sharing behavior. Contrary to many commonsense notions and predominant theories, competence in this ability is actually related to less sharing. Thus, the relation between developing theory of mind and sharing may not be as straightforward as it seems in preschool age children. It is precisely the children who can engage in theory of mind that decide to share less with others.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D002657 Child Development The continuous sequential physiological and psychological maturing of an individual from birth up to but not including ADOLESCENCE. Infant Development,Development, Child,Development, Infant
D002666 Psychology, Child Branch of psychology involving the study of normal and abnormal behavior of children. Child Psychology,Infant Psychology,Pediatric Psychology,Psychology, Infant,Psychology, Pediatric
D002675 Child, Preschool A child between the ages of 2 and 5. Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005106 Exploratory Behavior The tendency to explore or investigate a novel environment. It is considered a motivation not clearly distinguishable from curiosity. Curiosity,Novelty-Seeking Behavior,Behavior, Exploratory,Behavior, Novelty-Seeking,Behaviors, Exploratory,Behaviors, Novelty-Seeking,Curiosities,Exploratory Behaviors,Novelty Seeking Behavior,Novelty-Seeking Behaviors
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000704 Analysis of Variance A statistical technique that isolates and assesses the contributions of categorical independent variables to variation in the mean of a continuous dependent variable. ANOVA,Analysis, Variance,Variance Analysis,Analyses, Variance,Variance Analyses
D012919 Social Behavior Any behavior caused by or affecting another individual or group usually of the same species. Sociality,Behavior, Social,Behaviors, Social,Social Behaviors
D056344 Executive Function A set of cognitive functions that controls complex, goal-directed thought and behavior. Executive function involves multiple domains, such as CONCEPT FORMATION, goal management, cognitive flexibility, INHIBITION control, and WORKING MEMORY. Impaired executive function is seen in a range of disorders, e.g., SCHIZOPHRENIA; and ADHD. Executive Control,Executive Controls,Executive Functions,Function, Executive,Functions, Executive

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