Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V6, Canada.
Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V6, Canada.
J Exp Child Psychol. 2022 Nov;223:105469. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105469. Epub 2022 Jul 5.
This study explored whether early maternal input during shared reading predicted later theory of mind (ToM) understanding through children's receptive language and executive function (EF). Maternal input plays a prominent role in the development of children's language skills, which are crucial for both EF and ToM development. There is also an abundance of behavioral evidence suggesting a directional link from EF to ToM. This relation raises the possibility of a cognitive cascade in which maternal input during shared reading promotes ToM development sequentially through receptive language and EF. The sample included 656 children clustered within 328 ethnically and sociodemographically diverse families. The shared reading sessions occurred when the younger and older siblings were 1.5 and 4 years old, respectively. Receptive language, EF, and ToM were measured when the siblings were approximately 5 years old to account for age differences. Multilevel modeling using Bayesian estimation was used to account for the effect of family-wide confounds (i.e., shared between the siblings in the family) while isolating child-specific processes (i.e., unique to each child within the family). The results supported two indirect paths from shared reading to children's ToM: one through receptive language alone and another that operated sequentially through receptive language and EF. These paths were observed only at the family level. These findings emphasize the importance of maternal input during early shared reading for cognitive development and suggest a cascade from maternal input to ToM via language and EF during the preschool period.
本研究探讨了在共享阅读期间母亲的早期投入是否通过儿童的接受性语言和执行功能（EF）来预测后期的心理理论（ToM）理解。母亲的投入在儿童语言技能的发展中起着重要作用，而语言技能对 EF 和 ToM 的发展都至关重要。也有大量行为证据表明，EF 与 ToM 之间存在着从 EF 到 ToM 的方向性联系。这种关系提出了一种认知级联的可能性，即共享阅读期间的母亲投入通过接受性语言和 EF 依次促进 ToM 的发展。该样本包括 656 名儿童，这些儿童分别聚集在 328 个具有不同种族和社会人口统计学特征的家庭中。当弟弟妹妹分别为 1.5 岁和 4 岁时，进行了共享阅读。当兄弟姐妹大约 5 岁时，测量了接受性语言、EF 和 ToM，以考虑年龄差异。使用贝叶斯估计的多层次模型用于解释家庭范围内的混杂因素（即家庭中兄弟姐妹之间共享的因素）的影响，同时分离出儿童特定的过程（即家庭中每个儿童特有的因素）。结果支持了从共享阅读到儿童 ToM 的两条间接路径：一条仅通过接受性语言，另一条通过接受性语言和 EF 依次进行。这些路径仅在家庭层面上观察到。这些发现强调了在早期共享阅读期间母亲投入对认知发展的重要性，并表明在学龄前期间，通过语言和 EF，从母亲投入到 ToM 存在级联效应。
