Theory of Mind and Reactions to Emotional Responses in Children with Visual Impairments: A Comparison with Sighted Children

Abstract

Introduction: Theory of Mind (ToM) is a social cognitive process that provides the basis for positive social responses in personal interactions. Possessing ToM makes it possible to recognize and understand other people’s thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. Due to the relationship between ToM and understanding emotions, the purpose of this study was to compare the reactions to emotional responses (happy and sad) of children with low vision, children with severe visual impairments, and sighted children with the ToM processes. The research's purpose was to investigate the relationships between the children's ToM scores and their responses to emotional expressionsMethod: The study consisted of 20 children with low vision (x = 58.45, sd = 1.74), 19 children with severe visual impairments (x = 60.36, sd = 1.84), and 20 sighted children (x̄ = 60.35, ss = 1.58) who were between the ages of 48 and 72 months and did not have additional disabilities or developmental delays. Participants were initially assessed with the ToM, First Order False Belief, Unexpected Location, and Unexpected Content tasks. In the second stage, the researcher played with each child for about 20 minutes to assess the participants' reactions to emotional responses. The researchers created emotional social scenarios implemented within a play dyad through which the researcher would display happy and sad feelings. Children’s reactions to emotional responses were coded and analyzed.Findings: The study findings showed that children with severe visual impairments received lower scores on the ToM tasks than children with low vision and sighted children. Additionally, results indicated that children with low vision and severe visual impairments displayed increased ignorance toward the researcher’s emotional expressions compared to sighted children. The current study found that children with severe visual impairments and sighted children’s ToM scores were related to their reactions to emotional responses.Discussion: Findings from the current study suggest that children with severe visual impairments may display emotional reaction difficulties while participating in various emotional and social situations. Based on the study results, suggestions for future research and early intervention practices were provided.