Young Children’s Theory of Mind: Home Literacy Environment, Technology Usage, and Preschool Education

Abstract

Theory of mind (ToM) skills involve young children’s mentalizing ability to be aware of their own selves and other individuals’ thoughts, beliefs, desires, and intentions (mental states). The social cognition skills are essential for processing complex social relations and overcoming interpersonal difficulties in communication. Previous studies shed light on the relationship of parenting and demographics to children’s ToM skills, but do not examine the associations with both home environment and preschool education experiences. The goal of the present study is to investigate children’s preschool education experience, home literacy environment (HLE), and technology usage in relation to their ToM skills. Participants were 203 preschoolers and their parents. The study data were collected using a home literacy environment questionnaire (HLEQ), theory of mind scale, and a demographic information form. The findings revealed that (a) children’s ToM scores are not differentiated regarding gender, excluding the diverse belief tasks, b) children’s ToM performances were differentiated in favor of children who have internet access at home, c) HLE, child age, daily TV watching, household income, maternal education, preschool experience, and shared book reading explained 46% of the total variance of preschoolers’ ToM scores.