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Maternal Mind–Mindedness and Attachment Security as Predictors of Theory of Mind Understanding
Author(s) -
Meins Elizabeth,
Fernyhough Charles,
Wainwright Rachel,
Das Gupta Mani,
Fradley Emma,
Tuckey Michelle
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8624.00501
Subject(s) - psychology , theory of mind , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , cognition , neuroscience
This study investigated relations between social interaction during infancy and children's subsequent theory of mind (ToM). Infant–mother pairs ( N = 57) were observed in a free–play context at 6 months. Interactions were coded for (a) mothers’ use of mental state language that commented appropriately on the infants’ mental states, and (b) mothers’ use of mental state language that did not appropriately reflect their infants’ minds. A third variable was (c) security of attachment, which was assessed using the Strange Situation procedure at 12 months. Performance on a battery of ToM tasks at 45 and 48 months was positively correlated with (a), but was not related to (b) or (c). A regression analysis showed that mothers’ use of appropriate mental state comments independently predicted overall ToM performance, accounting for 11% of the variance. Children's verbal ability was the only other independent predictor of ToM performance, accounting for 16% of the variance. These findings represent the earliest known social predictor of individual differences in ToM.