The effect of false belief training on response of 3-6 years old normal children to theory of mind tasks

Abstract Theory of mind is a cognitive ability in 4-5 years old children which is used to predict and explain their own and others` behavior by considering mental states like believes intentions, desires and perceptions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of false belief on responding to theory of mind tasks in 3-6 years-old normal children. 50 children were selected following the pre-test (the unexpected transfer task; Perner & Wimmer, 1983; quoted by Flavell, 2000) and randomly allocated to training and control group after matching for age. The training group received eight sessions of training. Post-test included the unexpected transfer task, the unexpected content (Hougrefe, Wimmer & perner, 1986; quoted by Doherty, 2009) and Appearance- Reality which were administered immediately after training for both group. The results of this study showed that the Training group was better in responding to theory of mind tasks in post-test. The findings suggested that false belief training may result a better performance in respond to theory of mind tasks in 3-6 years old normal children.