Li Honglan, Leung Man-Tak
School of Foreign Studies, Nanjing University of Science of Technology, Nanjing, China.
Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Front Psychol. 2024 Jun 12;15:1354207. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1354207. eCollection 2024.
Research has indicated that language and executive function relate closely to first-order false belief reasoning, yet their roles in second-order false belief reasoning are under-explored, and their interplay in theory of mind development remains obscure.
This study assessed 160 Mandarin-speaking preschoolers' and early primary schoolers' language, executive function, and theory of mind abilities to examine the unique roles and interplay of language and executive function in first-order and second-order false belief reasoning.
Results showed that language significantly uniquely predicted the children's first-order as well as second-order false belief reasoning when controlling for the effects of age and executive function. Although executive function significantly predicted first-order FB reasoning when controlling for age, it was no longer a significant predictor of first-order FB reasoning when language was included in the model. However, executive function played a significant unique role in second-order FB reasoning when controlling for the effects of age and language.
The current findings suggest that language plays a greater role than executive function in Mandarin-speaking children's theory of mind development and the contributors to theory of mind development vary in different levels of false belief reasoning.
研究表明，语言和执行功能与一阶错误信念推理密切相关，然而它们在二阶错误信念推理中的作用尚未得到充分探索，并且它们在心理理论发展中的相互作用仍不明确。
本研究评估了160名说普通话的学龄前儿童和小学低年级学生的语言、执行功能和心理理论能力，以检验语言和执行功能在一阶和二阶错误信念推理中的独特作用及相互作用。
结果表明，在控制年龄和执行功能的影响后，语言显著且独特地预测了儿童的一阶和二阶错误信念推理。虽然在控制年龄时执行功能显著预测了一阶错误信念推理，但当模型中纳入语言因素时，它不再是一阶错误信念推理的显著预测因素。然而，在控制年龄和语言的影响后，执行功能在二阶错误信念推理中发挥了显著的独特作用。
目前的研究结果表明，在说普通话的儿童心理理论发展中，语言比执行功能发挥着更大的作用，并且心理理论发展的影响因素在不同层次的错误信念推理中有所不同。
