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Previous research has found a link between theory of mind and cooperation. The aim of this study is to deepen into this relationship, to identify which theory of mind skills are more related to the cooperative ability on a referential communication task. A total of 50 children from first and fifth grade completed a battery of theory of mind tasks, and also a cooperative task where children worked in pairs to build block models. Each pair was composed by a builder and a guide, who gave instructions to his partner about how to build a replica of the model. The results show a significant relationship between the theory of mind skills and cooperation. Specifically, we found that the second-order false-belief task was the variable most related to cooperation after controlling the effect of age. In addition, we observed that the mentalist skills were more important for cooperation in the builders than in the guides. Finally, we discuss the findings of this study and make suggestions for the future.

This research studies the relation between children's Theory of Mind (ToM) and the communicative behaviour and strategies used in a referential communication task. A total of 46 children (aged 6 to 10) were administered 6 ToM tasks, and they also participated in pairs in a cooperative task. Each pair built 4 construction models. Results showed that several ToM skills were related to the communicative behaviours of requesting clarification and giving information. In addition, the most used communicative strategy was Joint review, in which participants reviewed together the location of their blocks. This strategy was the most related to ToM abilities and to cooperative success. The importance of ToM for developing the communicative behaviours and strategies necessary for cooperation is discussed., Author(s): Francesc Sidera [sup.1] , Georgina Perpiñà [sup.1] , Jèssica Serrano [sup.1] , Carles Rostan [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) 0000 0001 2179 7512, grid.5319.e, University of Girona, , Facultat d'Educació [...]

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This research examined children's understanding of the effect of hiding or pretending an emotion on the beliefs of the observer of this emotion. A sample of 337 children from 4 to 12 years of age participated in the study. They were divided into two groups; one involving a deception condition and one a pretend play condition. In the deception tasks, the protagonists intended to deceive other people about their feelings, while in the pretend play tasks, the protagonists pretended an emotion to play with another person. The results support previous findings that 4- and even 6-year-olds have difficulty in understanding the misleading consequences of hiding an emotion. On the other hand, when children attributed beliefs to the observer of a pretend emotion, young children mostly considered the pretend scenario, while older children took the real events into account. The paper discusses when children develop their ability to understand simulated emotions and their possible misleading consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]