Language Components and Theory of Mind: Proposing a Conceptual Model

The purpose of this study was to gain a coherent understanding of the importance of language, identify and categorize its components in the acquisition of children's theory of mind ability, and also to provide a conceptual model in this regard. The type of research was descriptive, the method of conducting it was qualitative and based on library citation research that was done using systematic review and meta-study (meta-synthesis) methods. The target population included all the researches and studies available in foreign and domestic databases that were conducted from 1990 to 2021 in the field of the relationship between language and theory of mind. By applying the theoretical and targeted sampling method and selecting a sample of related studies and researches, the required data were collected. The sampling process continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. 123 articles were screened Finally. The data was analyzed by content analysis method. In the open coding stage, 143 component codes were identified. Based on the concept of the identified codes and their classification in a similar component, in the axial coding stage, 5 main components and 2 secondary components were obtained. The findings indicated that the relationship between language and theory of mind can be theoretically explained based on 5 main linguistic components in the order of priority: pragmatics, semantics, syntax, vocabulary and phonology and 2 sub-linguistic components: meta-linguistic and whole. Presenting this conceptual model is a step towards achieving a comprehensive and new explanation of the importance of language in the development of the theory of mind and will lead to increasing and updating existing knowledge and benefiting from it at practical levels, including in research, educational and clinical aspects.