Theory-of-Mind Development as an Antecedent and a Consequence of Social-Behavioral Development in Children.

Theory-of-Mind;Temperament;Early sibling relationship;Psychology;Social Sciences;Psychology

Song, Ju-HyunWellman, Henry M. ;

University of Michigan

关键词: Theory-of-Mind;    Temperament;    Early sibling relationship;    Psychology;    Social Sciences;    Psychology;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/113594/jjhsong_1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

Social and cognitive competencies develop hand-in-hand during the early years of life. Despite the interdependence of the two areas of development, few studies attempt to capture the bidirectional and interactive nature of the relations between the two. This dissertation provides evidence from three longitudinal studies supporting the close, yet intricate, associations between children’s behavioral and relational characteristics, and Theory-of-Mind (ToM) development.The goal of the first study was to test a developmental cascade model of firstborn children’s aggression, ToM development, and antagonistic sibling interaction during the transition to siblinghood. Findings revealed that firstborn children’s aggression before the birth predicted higher sibling antagonism and poorer ToM understanding at 4 months post-partum. ToM, in turn, predicted lower sibling antagonism at 12 months, supporting the cascade effects across multiple domains of development over time.The aim of the second study was to further understand the associations among early sibling interactions and parenting styles, and ToM development. Results showed that firstborns children’s ToM before the birth of a sibling predicted more positive sibling engagement at 4 months after the birth. Parents’ directive parenting moderated the negative link between sibling antagonism and ToM, emphasizing the importance of parental guidance for children’s interaction with a baby sibling for their social cognitive growth.The objective of the third study was to examine the interactive associations between callous-unemotional (CU) behavior, ToM, and anxious temperament at age 3 in predicting externalizing problems across childhood. A significant interaction between CU behavior and ToM was found, where CU behavior at age 3 predicted externalizing problems at school at age 6 and 10 only when combined with low levels of ToM. This result suggests that advanced ToM understanding may play a protective role for children with high levels of CU behavior, who have a greater risk for persistent and severe externalizing problems across childhood.To summarize, this dissertation shows multiple ways in which social-cognitive development and behavioral development interact in children’s social lives. Findings from the three studies suggest that starting from early childhood, individual differences in children’s ToM understanding can be a predictor, an outcome, and a moderator of social-behavioral development.