title: Friends, friendlessness, and social cognition.
abstract: I applaud the methods and findings of the target article by Fink and colleagues (Brit. J. Dev. Psychol, 2015; 33, 1-17) who demonstrate an important link between theory of mind and children's social lives. In particular, enhanced theory of mind in preschool buffers children from friendlessness in the transition to school. Going further, I suggest needed steps for the field to experimentally demonstrate causal links between children's theory of mind and their social actions and interactions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Henry M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Wellman
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012934:Social Isolation / Q000523:psychology*; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: friendlessness; social interaction; theory of mind