Why Language Matters for Theory of Mind

By Janet Wilde Astington, Jodie A. Baird. 2005

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How do use and comprehension of mental-state language relate to theory of mind in middle childhood? (2012, background): “There are abundant research findings supporting the argument that the lexical semantic component of psychological vocabulary may foster theory of mind in preschool children (Astington & Baird, 2005; Hughes & Dunn, 1997; Jenkins & Astington, 1996).”
Language and theory of mind: meta-analysis of the relation between language ability and false-belief understanding. (2007, background): “This is because language is a complex multifaceted system that is used for social communication and for individual mental representation (Astington & Baird, 2005a), which can be assessed in multiple ways.”
The Interface of Language and Theory of Mind. (2007, background): “…keeping with this perspective, there is extensive work on typically developing children confirming the significance for their development of the richness of maternal input about the mind, use of mental verbs and discourse about the mind (Meins et al., 2002; Dunn, 2005; Harris, 2005; Nelson, 2005).”
Do humans have two systems to track beliefs and belief-like states? (2009, background): “, Apperly & Robinson , 2003 ) , appears to be related to the development of language ( Astington & Baird , 2005 ) and executive function ( Perner & Lang , 1999 ; Sabbagh , 2006 ) , and may be facilitated by explicit training ( Clements et al .”