Age-related changes in theory of mind in middle childhood : a cross-cultural comparison between Australian and Chinese children

Abstract

Theory of mind (ToM) is centrally important in everyday social communication and interactions, and a growing number of studies have focused on this social-cognitive construct in school-aged children. This study explored age-related changes in ToM abilities and cross-cultural differences between children from China and Australia. We recruited 126 children from China and 83 children from Australia. The children’s cognitive and affective ToM were measured by four tests. The findings showed that although there were no cultural differences in Interpretive ToM and Faux Pas performances, Chinese children performed poorer in Reading Mind in the Eyes and Strange Stories than Australian children.