Social Cognition

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Development of Social Cognition in theory of mind in children

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor of Psychology, Payame Noor University

2 Professor of Psychology, Payame Noor University

3 And Ph.D. student of psychology at Payame Noor University

Abstract

Aims: Theory of mind is one of the most important topics in social cognition, and since, it is a prerequisite to understand the social environment and involvement in competitive social behavior, in recent decades has gained attention in the field of psychology. Therefore, the main purpose of the present study was the development of social cognition in children based on the theory of mind and comparison of theory of mind in three groups of  3, 5 and 7 years old children. Method: 150 children from Rasht city were selected by multiphase cluster sampling and completed the theory of mind scale (TMS-38). Data were analyzed in α≤0.01 significance level by multivariate analysis of variance and follow-up test. Results: The results showed that there were significant differences in levels of theory of mind between the three groups. In this case, the older subjects compared with younger subjects, obtained higher scores at all levels of theory of mind. Conclusions: According to the findings, children together with increase in age in their evolution, achieve distinct levels of theory of mind.

Keywords

References
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Social Cognition
Volume 1, Issue 2 - Serial Number 2
June 2013
Pages 32-39
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