This example of how young children understand what others think shows some of the ways in which our research is carried out and our ideas about child development
Theory of mind tasks
'Theory of Mind' tasks have generated a large amount of research and interest. Having a theory of mind enables a person to work out the beliefs and thoughts of another person, this ability is thought to develop in the fourth year of life.
Look at the demonstration and work out what you would say in reply to the adult's question about Sally and Anne. The task involves a story about a marble being moved to a new location by one person, when the other person does not see it being moved.
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In this video clip, the young girl who took part in the task thought that Sally would look in the place where the object really is, and did not understand that Sally's belief about the location of the marble would be different from her own. As we can see, sometimes young children have difficulty remembering what their belief was after it has changed.
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Content last updated: 30/01/2007
