Mother-Child Reminiscing and Children’s Understanding of Mind

Children’s autobiographical memory is hypothesized to be a function of their understanding of mind (Perner & Ruffman, 1995; Welch-Ross, 1995). In the context of mother-child reminiscing, children may learn about and display their understanding of mind (Nelson, 1999; Welch-Ross, 1997). We studied links among maternal reminiscing style, children’s autobiographical memory, and children’s understanding of mind for children from age 3.5 to 4.5 years. We found little evidence of links between children’s autobiographical memory and their understanding of mind, but maternal reminiscing style was correlated with children’s understanding of mind, specifically their understanding that visual access leads to knowledge. We discuss the specific ways in which maternal reminiscing may be linked to children’s understanding of mind