title: Scaling of theory-of-mind understandings in Chinese children.
abstract: Prior research demonstrates that understanding of theory of mind develops at different paces in children raised in different cultures. Are these differences simply differences in timing, or do they represent different patterns of cultural learning? That is, to what extent are sequences of theory-of-mind understanding universal, and to what extent are they culture-specific? We addressed these questions by using a theory-of-mind scale to examine performance of 140 Chinese children living in Beijing and to compare their performance with that of 135 English-speaking children living in the United States and Australia. Results reveal a common sequence of understanding, as well as sociocultural differences in children's developing theories of mind.
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, USA. hmw@umich.edu
authors.forename: Henry M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Wellman
authors.forename: Fuxi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Liqi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Guoxiong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011582:Psychological Theory; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014481:United States