Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
935895 Lingua 2007 21 Pages PDF
Abstract

The proposal is made that the interface between language and Theory of Mind is bidirectional. It seems probable that the conceptual developments of early Theory of Mind form an essential basis for helping to fix at least word reference. In development from 2 to 4 years, no basis exists in research for conclusions about the direction of influence between language and Theory of Mind. At the stage of false belief reasoning, after age 4, the role of the mastery of syntactic complementation is highlighted as a representational tool, that is, language development assists reasoning. The paper presents a brief summary of Theory of Mind, ranging from its earliest beginnings in infancy to the appreciation around age 4 years that others might hold false beliefs and act according to them. For each development, the parallel language developments are described, and questions are raised about the interface between the two. In particular, research that might determine the direction of influence from one to the other is discussed. More work is called for, especially with nonverbal tasks, good experimental linguistic work and other special populations, that might allow a more precise delineation of how language and Theory of Mind interrelate at the interface.

Related Topics
Social Sciences and Humanities Arts and Humanities Language and Linguistics