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“I Know You Don't Know I Know…” Children Use Second‐Order False‐Belief Reasoning for Peer Coordination
Author(s) -
Grueneisen Sebastian,
Wyman Emily,
Tomasello Michael
Publication year - 2014
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/cdev.12264
Subject(s) - psychology , false belief , theory of mind , need to know , social psychology , order (exchange) , social cognition , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , cognition , finance , neuroscience , economics , computer security , computer science
Numerous studies have investigated children's abilities to attribute mental states, but few have examined their ability to recruit these abilities in social interactions. Here, 6‐year‐olds ( N = 104) were tested on whether they can use first‐ and second‐order false‐belief understanding to coordinate with peers. Children adjusted their decisions in a coordination game in response to either their partner's erroneous belief or their partner's erroneous belief about their own belief—a result that contrasts with previous findings on the use of higher order “theory of mind” ( TOM ) reasoning at this age. Six‐year‐olds are thus able to use their higher order TOM capacities for peer coordination, which marks an important achievement in becoming competent social collaborators.