Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Research suggests that a child's theory of mind abilities, as well as other cognitive functioning abilities, can be positively effected by different forms of mass media.


  • Theory of mind abilities develop during the prime preschool years, this time is crucial for a child's social and cognitive development. 
  • Exposure to certain forms of mass communication, such as storybooks, may cause further development in theory of mind abilities.
  • Exposure to movies and television may explain children performing poorly on Theory of Mind assessments, with the exception of exposure followed by discussion with an adult.
Theory of mind is a person's ability to understand that other people have different perceptions of situations than their own, this could include differing beliefs, desires, thoughts, intentions, emotions,etc. Theory of mind is commonly associated with the infamous Sally-and-Anne tests that are used to test a child's theory of mind abilities, as well as to see if a child may be on the autism spectrum.

 In the Sally and Anne tests, of which there are many variations, children observe a situation between Sally and Anne. An object is moved between two boxes and children must distinguish where the character who was not present during the object movement will say that the object is. The younger that a child is, the worse that they will perform on this test and most test assessing their theory of mind abilities. As a child ages, their theory of mind abilities will typically increase as well. As can be seen in the above data graphic, a child who is nearly five years of age will do significantly better on theory of mind related tasks than a child who is not yet three years of age.

Theory of Mind abilities develop during the ages of three to six year's old, and are extremely important to develop for normal social and cognitive functioning. 


As graduate student, Mike Rizzo, currently working in the Social and Moral Development lab under the supervision of Dr. Melanie Killen states, in layman's terms, theory of mind is a child's ability to recognize that other's have different mental states. So, if a child has normal theory of mind abilities they should be able to correctly explain and predict the actions of another person based on said person's mental state. Rizzo also discusses how Autism is one of the biggest hindrances of theory of mind abilities, as children on the spectrum are incapable of seeing a situation from another person's point of view. So, a child with Autism would score poorly on the previously mentioned Sally and Anne tests.  In children with autism, however, the theory of mind abilities that are so crucial in life can not be later developed, as how they can be for children who are gaining the abilities late due to other aspects delaying their development. Other possible factors in the development of theory of mind abilities include, but are not limited to, social interaction, discussion of situations with peers or adults, or mass media.

A recent study suggests that exposing a child to forms of mass media, such as storybooks, may positively predict theory of mind development. 

In a recent study published by the Cognitive Development journal, "Exposure to media and theory-of-mind development in preschoolers", researchers discover that not only do exposure to television, books, and movies influence theory of mind abilities, but their exposure positively predicts theory of mind development.  The study states that about 75 percent of the storybooks that are read to preschoolers contain language that relates to internal states, and a third of the books dealt with false belief, which is a factor in theory of mind. The reason that storybooks can hinder such development in cognitive abilities is due to the content that is typically found within them.



Another aspect of storybooks that the researchers propose may be influential in  developing theory of mind abilities is that they are read to the preschool aged children by either a parent or another adult. This interaction with a parent can create discussion about the topics that are brought to attention in the stories, which will aid children in understanding the perspectives of all the different characters involved. When asked if discussion of situations that occur in media could potentially increase a child's theory of mind abilities, Rizzo also agrees, stating that parents fostering different perspective taking could be very influential a child's developing theory of mind abilities.

Development of Theory of Mind abilities in children can be positively effected by mass media when discussion follows exposure to the media. 

In a study published by the Journal of  Communication, "The relation between television exposure and Theory of Mind among Preschoolers", researchers state that when there is television exposure, or when a child simply has a television in their bedroom, they will perform more poorly on Theory of mind assessments. However, the researchers also say that when a discussion of the media follows the observation of it, then there is a positive correlation to theory of mind abilities. This means that the negative effects of mass media on theory of mind abilities can be counteracted with a simple discussion with a parent or guardian post-viewing.

A typical measure that researchers may use to assess Theory of Mind abilities is known as Wellman and Liu's 7-task assessment of Theory of Mind. The researchers for this study, on television exposure, used this assessment as well; to assess the different types of understanding (diverse desires, diverse beliefs, knowledge and ignorance, and false belief) children were required to complete tasks where they would answer target questions about a protagonist's mental state, in which they would either pass or fail. The use of this assessment reveals that without discussion after watching media, children overall did not do well on most theory of mind measures, with the exception of diverse desires. This study further reinforces the idea that discussion post observing media is necessary so that theory of mind abilities are not negatively effected.

Children, especially children between the ages of three and six years old, are in their prime years for theory of mind development. As Mike Rizzo postulates, the environment is very influential in the social and cognitive development of a child. Mass media, such as television, movies, or storybooks can have both positive and negative effects on a child's development. If a parent or adult does not discuss the media with the child then this will negatively affect the child, whereas if  a discussion is held post viewing then this will positively influence a child's theory of mind abilities and development.

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