Why we think we can't dance: theory of mind and children's desire to perform.
Theory of mind (ToM) allows children to achieve success in the social world by understanding others' minds. A study with 3- to 12-year-olds, however, demonstrates that gains in ToM are linked to decreases in children's desire to engage in performative behaviors associated with health and well-being, such as singing and dancing. One hundred and fifty-nine middle-class children from diverse backgrounds in a Northeastern U.S. metropolitan area completed the study in 2011. The development of ToM is associated with decreases in self-esteem, which in turn predicts decreases in children's willingness to perform. This shift away from performance begins at age 4 (when ToM begins to develop), years before children enter puberty.
University of Illinois at Chicago.
Lan Nguyen
LN
Chaplin
Michael I
MI
Norton
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003615:Dancing / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology*