Development of Understanding False Beliefs about Apparent Crying in Elementary School Children, in Relationship to the Acquisition of Second-Order False Beliefs

Mizokawa Ai, Koyasu Masuo

doi:10.11201/jjdp.19.209

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児童期における見かけの泣きの理解の発達 : 二次的誤信念の理解との関連の検討
ジドウキニオケルミカケノナキノリカイノハッタツ 2ジテキゴシンネンノリカイトノカンレンノケントウ

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Abstract

This study examined the age at which children understand that a display of apparent crying may create false beliefs in another person. In addition, it examined whether it is necessary to have acquired recursive thought to understand such false beliefs. Mizokawa and Koyasu (2007) showed that even 6-year olds cannot fully understand such false beliefs. In the present study, 525 children, ages 6 to 12, were given a booklet including "crying tasks" and a "Second-order false belief task." Crying tasks contained two "apparent crying tasks" and one "real crying task." In each "crying task," the protagonist looked as if she was crying. After each story, participants judged whether the protagonist was really crying, and whether the other character believed that the protagonist was crying. The results showed that children can understand false beliefs about apparent crying at around age 9, and there is a relationship between understanding of such false beliefs and performance on a second-order false belief task. These findings suggest that recursive thought is an important cognitive basis for understanding another's emotion.

Journal

The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology

The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology 19 (3), 209-220, 2008

Japan Society of Developmental Psychology

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