Theory of mind and its measurement in children from 4 to 6 years of age: Reflection on Thinking Test Cover Image

Teoria umysłu i jej pomiar u dzieci w wieku 4–6 lat: Test Refleksji nad Myśleniem
Theory of mind and its measurement in children from 4 to 6 years of age: Reflection on Thinking Test

Author(s): Marta Białecka-Pikul, Marta Szpak, Ewa Haman, Karolina Mieszkowska
Subject(s): Psychology
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: temperament; social competences; music; art; students

Summary/Abstract: The paper presents Test Refleksji nad Myśleniem (TRM, Reflection on Thinking Test), designed to investigate the development of reflection on thinking in children above 4 years of age. TRM is composed of nine tasks in the form of illustrated stories. The tasks assess child’s understanding of the 1st order beliefs (Unexpected Transfer Test and Deceptive Box Test), understanding of deception, ambiguity and interpretation, understanding of surprise and the 2nd order beliefs. In order to evaluate basic psychometric properties of TRM, data gathered from 259 Polish monolingual children aged 4 to 6 were analyzed. The test correctly differentiates the scores of 4-, 5- and 6-year-olds and displays appropriate measurement invariance. The TRM results are positively correlated with results of tests measuring general cognitive and linguistic abilities in children. Additionally, in accordance with our predictions, the typically developing children obtained significantly higher results than children with specific language impairment. The results confirm that TRM is a reliable and valid instrument that can be used in basic research.

  • Issue Year: 23/2018
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 41-68
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Polish