Theory of mind in preadolescence, connections among social understanding, self-concept, and social relations

grantor: University of TorontoThe investigation of the ability to attribute mental states to others and to see them as the basis for people's actions has been referred to as "theory of mind" (ToM) research. That is, ToM research attempts to explain how children come to understand social action in both themselves and others. Despite the rising interest in this approach to social understanding, empirical evidence gleaned from the early adolescent years remains sparse. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to assess social understanding in preadolescents from a ToM perspective, and to determine if such understanding relates to concepts of self and social relations differently in girls and boys. It was hypothesized that preadolescents' ability to understand thoughts and emotions in others would be associated with their sense of self and their social-relational ability. One hundred and twenty-eight preadolescents ('M' = 11;9 years; 64 girls, 64 boys) completed a self- concept questionnaire, vocabulary tasks, peer social competence ratings and participated in an interview that involved two ambiguous social narratives followed by questions to assess social and self-understanding. Teacher ratings of the participants' classroom behaviour were also collected. Based on composite social story scores, results indicated positive associations between children's social understanding and (a) perceptions of their behavioural conduct, (b) ability to understand their own mental states and feelings and (c) social competence ratings. Separate gender analysis revealed different correlational patterns among the variables. More specifically, multiple regression and multivariate analyses showed that among girls, global self-worth (i.e., reported personal happiness) acted as a moderator between social understanding and social competence ratings whereas this was not found for boys. Results are discussed in relation to (1) individual differences in social understanding, self-concept and social relations and (2) effects of socio-cultural context. Educational implications include theoretical foundation for developments in holistic curriculum for preadolescents. In conclusion, the present findings may increase educators' awareness of the inner world of girls and boys in the sixth grade which in turn may further the discourse on social cognition and holistic education.Ph.D