In our international research project, we are investigating whether children aged 1 to 3 already develop a spontaneous understanding of the thoughts of others. Among other things, we analyse their gaze behaviour in order to identify early signs of theory of mind.
In this project, we study the development of social cognition in early childhood, more specifically Theory of Mind. Theory of Mind is the ability to understand that others have mental states, such as desires, beliefs, or goals, and that they may differ from one’s own mental states and/or reality. Around the age of 4 children acquire this ability, which enables them to better explain and predict the behavior of others. Traditionally, Theory of Mind was studied using verbal tasks. However, recent research using nonverbal tasks suggests that children have non-verbal Theory of Mind abilities at an earlier age. We are interested in whether children between the ages of 1 and 3 already have a spontaneous Theory of Mind understanding. We are part of ManBabies2, a multi-lab project, led by a consortium of international researchers from the field (see https://manybabies.github.io/MB2/). We mainly use eye tracking, either in the lab or online, to study underlying cognitive processing.
Schuwerk, T.*, Kampis, D.*, Baillargeon, R., Biro, S., Bohn, M., …, Frank, M.C., & Rakoczy, H. (2021, February 14). Action anticipation based on an agent's epistemic state in toddlers and adults. Preprint (*shared co-first authorship).
Visser, I., Bergmann, C., Byers-Heinlein, K., Dal Ben, R., Duch, W., Forbes, S., Franchin, L., Frank, M., Geraci, A., Hamlin, J. K., Kaldy, Z., Kulke, L., Laverty, C., Lew-Williams, C., Mateu, V., Mayor, J., Moreau, D., Nomikou, I., Schuwerk, T., Simpson, E., Singh, L., Soderstrom, M., Sullivan, J., Van den Heuvel, M., Westermann, G., Yamada, Y., Zaadnoordijk, L., & Zettersten, M. (2021). Improving the generalizability of infant psychological research: The ManyBabies model. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. PsyArXiv: doi:10.31234/osf.io/8vwbf.
Schuwerk, T., & Rakoczy, H. (2021). Social Interaction in Infancy. In H. J. Ferguson, V. Brunsdon, E. Bradford (Eds.). The Cognitive Basis of Social Interaction across the Lifespan. Oxford: University Press. check out now