Relationship between theory of mind and executive function in young children assessed by class teachers

Three- to 6-year-olds were given first-order and second-order false-belief tasks, and their class teachers assessed their everyday behavior in the nursery school using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Preschool Version (BRIEF-P) and T-K Developmental Scale for Children (T-K Scale). Main results are as follows: a) The subscale ratings of the BRIEF-P, i.e., Inhibit, Working Memory and Plan/Organize, were related to the performances of both first- and second-order false-belief tasks. b) Four of the 5 BRIEF-P subscales were related to the second-order false-belief task; however, only one significant correlation among the four subscales of the T-K Scale was observed. These results are discussed from the perspective of cognitive skills to better understand higher-level states