The Impact of Sign Language on the Cognitive Development of Deaf Children: The Case of Theories of Mind | Zendy

Cyril Courtin | Zendy

AI Assistant Blog Pricing

Home ZAIA Blog

Open Access

The Impact of Sign Language on the Cognitive Development of Deaf Children: The Case of Theories of Mind

Author(s) -

Cyril Courtin

Publication year - 2000

Publication title -

the journal of deaf studies and deaf education

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 0.862

H-Index - 59

eISSN - 1465-7325

pISSN - 1081-4159

DOI - 10.1093/deafed/5.3.266

Subject(s) - psychology , sign language , theory of mind , cognition , sign (mathematics) , developmental psychology , language development , mode (computer interface) , cognitive development , american sign language , cognitive psychology , linguistics , mathematical analysis , philosophy , mathematics , neuroscience , computer science , operating system

The ability to attribute false beliefs (i.e., demonstrate theory of mind) by 155 deaf children between 5 and 8 years of age was compared to that of 39 hearing children ages 4 to 6. The hypotheses under investigation were (1) that linguistic features of sign language could promote the development of theories of mind and (2) that early exposure to language would allow an easier access to these theories. Deaf children were grouped according to their communication mode and the hearing status of their parents. The results obtained in three false belief tasks supported the hypotheses: effective representational abilities were demonstrated by deaf children of deaf parents, whereas those born to hearing parents appeared delayed in that regard, with differences according to their communication mode.

The content you want is available to Zendy users.

Already have an account? Click here to sign in.

Having issues? You can contact us here

Accelerating Research