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Meta‐Analysis of Theory of Mind and Peer Popularity in the Preschool and Early School Years
Author(s) -
Slaughter Virginia,
Imuta Kana,
Peterson Candida C.,
Henry Julie D.
Publication year - 2015
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.12372
Subject(s) - popularity , psychology , theory of mind , developmental psychology , meta analysis , association (psychology) , peer group , peer acceptance , social psychology , cognition , psychiatry , psychotherapist , medicine
It has been argued that children who possess an advanced theory of mind (ToM) are viewed positively by their peers, but the empirical findings are mixed. This meta‐analysis of 20 studies including 2,096 children (aged from 2 years, 8 months to 10 years) revealed a significant overall association ( r = .19) indicating that children with higher ToM scores were also more popular in their peer group. The effect did not vary with age. The effect was weaker for boys ( r = .12) compared to girls ( r = .30). ToM was more strongly associated with popularity ( r = .23) than with rejection ( r = .13). These findings confirm that ToM development has significant implications for children's peer relationships.