Accelerating the Development of Second-Order False Belief Reasoning: A Training Study With Different Feedback...

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Development
• Theory of Mind

Background:

• Second-order false belief tasks assess advanced reasoning abilities.
• Children's performance on these tasks can be influenced by various factors, including experience and cognitive skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of different training conditions on 5-year-olds' performance on second-order false belief tasks.
• To determine if improvements in false belief understanding are sustained over time.

Main Methods:

• 106 five-year-olds were assigned to feedback with explanation, feedback without explanation, no feedback, or active control groups.
• Participants completed pretest, posttest, and a 4-month follow-up assessment.
• Children's age, verbal abilities, and working memory were controlled for.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in the three experimental training conditions from pretest to posttest.
• These improvements were maintained at the 4-month follow-up.
• Training effects remained significant after controlling for age, verbal abilities, and working memory.

Conclusions:

• Five-year-olds' difficulties with second-order false belief tasks may stem from a lack of experience.
• Exposure to diverse stories, particularly those with "why" questions, can enhance children's ability to reason about false beliefs.