The role of institution and home contexts in theory of mind development


Yagmurlu B., Berument S., Celimli S.

JOURNAL OF APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY, vol.26, no.5, pp.521-537, 2005 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 26 Issue: 5
  • Publication Date: 2005
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.appdev.2005.06.004
  • Journal Name: JOURNAL OF APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.521-537
  • Keywords: theory of mind, parent influences, institutional rearing, EARLY SEVERE DEPRIVATION, FALSE BELIEF, YOUNG-CHILDREN, ATTACHMENT SECURITY, VISUAL IMPAIRMENT, LONG-TERM, BEHAVIOR, CARE, DEAF, DECEPTION
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

To investigate the role of early context in theory of mind development, institutionalized children living in a boarding home (n = 34) in Turkey were compared to home-reared children coming from low (n = 32) and middle socioeconomic backgrounds (n = 44). Theory of mind was assessed with one deception and three false belief tasks; Peabody PVT and Raven CPM were administered to control for language and nonverbal intelligence. Results indicated a context effect whereby home-reared children performed better than institution-reared children on theory of mind tasks. Hierarchical regression analysis further revealed that institution rearing/adult-child ratio predicted theory of mind performance even after age, socioeconomic background, language and nonverbal intelligence were accounted for. Findings suggest the significance of adult-child interaction for theory of mind development. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.