Understanding theory of mind development in Lebanese children : linguistic and cultural influences

Abstract

This study investigates the development of Theory of Mind (ToM) in Lebanese children aged 3 to 6 years, with a focus on cultural context (collectivism vs. individualism) and sentential complement comprehension. Thirty participants were divided into two age groups (3-4 years and 4-6 years) and assessed using diverse belief (DB), false belief (FB), and hidden emotion (HE) tasks from the Arabic version of the Battery for Children - Theory of Mind (ABC TOM). Sentential complement understanding was evaluated using an adapted version of de Villiers and Pyers' syntax test. Parents completed the Auckland Individualism and Collectivism Scale (AICS) to gauge cultural orientation. Results showed that older children (4-6 years) performed significantly better on FB tasks compared to younger children (3-4 years), aligning with established research on ToM development. However, there was no significant age difference in DB performance, suggesting variability in the developmental sequence. No children succeeded in the HE task, likely due to the cognitive complexity involved. Sentential complement understanding significantly correlated with higher ToM scores, supporting previous findings on the linguistic underpinnings of ToM development. Analysis of SCT subscales revealed that children who succeeded in DB tasks performed better on future tense constructs, highlighting the potential link between episodic future thinking and ToM. Cultural analysis showed no significant differences in DB and FB task performance between individualistic and collectivist backgrounds, possibly due to the homogeneity of the sample and small size. Gender differences were minimal in ToM tasks, but girls outperformed boys on the Sentential Complement Test (SCT), indicating advanced linguistic abilities in females. These findings contribute to the understanding of ToM development in a non-Western context, emphasizing the roles of age, linguistic competence, and cultural factors. Further research with larger, more diverse samples is recommended to explore these relationships comprehensively.