آذر محمدزاده

Objectives Attributing the intention to others’ behavior is one important factor in the theory of mind development. This study aimed to assess validity of the “Moving shapes” paradigm in a group of Iranian school-aged children to evaluate their understanding the intention of others’ behavior.
Methods Through randomized cluster sampling, students at grades 3 to 5 were recruited among the mainstream schools in Tehran. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). After using the Ishihara test to rule out color-blindness, the “Moving shapes” paradigm was performed for all participants. Data were analyzed using descriptive methods, T test, linear regression, and Pearson’s correlation analysis.
Results The mean age of the participants was 9.96(SD=0.916) years, and 49.2% of them were male. There was no association between age and gender with intentionality score. All variables of the paradigm were significantly correlated with each other (PConclusion The “Moving shapes paradigm” can be used as a valid test for evaluation of the intentionality in Iranian school-aged children.

Theory of mind (ToM) has been described as the ability to understand other's mental states. One of the main aspects of ToM is intentionality. The aim of this study is to investigate relation between ToM (intentionality) and language ability using Movement Shapes Paradigm. Sixty boys of ages 7 to 9 without any mental disorders, based on interviews with their parents, participated in this study. All participants were assessed using the modified version of Movement Shapes Paradigm. Children's descriptions were rated according to their accuracy of answers, types of applying descriptions, and lengths of phrases. Verbal and language abilities were measured by verbal subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WACIS-R). Finally, statistical analysis was conducted using correlation coefficient, R Spearman. Data analysis showed that there were weak relations between ToM and language ability (P=0.05). Correlations between intentionality score, answer accuracy, and length of answers from ToM tasks and total verbal IQ were r=0.21, r=0.16, and r=-0.1, respectively. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that ToM as measured by Movement Shapes Paradigm is weakly related to language ability.