Abstract
This study explores the role folk tales of deception might play in assisting the child's development of a theory of mind. Four three- and four-year-olds read and reread “The Brave Little Tailor” with their parents. The results suggest that rereading a folk tale of deception sets a framework for social interactions supporting the development of the child's understanding of mental representation. The deceptions of the story elicit discussions—of thoughts and feelings and their relation to intentions and actions—that change over the course of successive readings as the child shows increasing comprehension of the deceptions of the story and decreasing need of parental support. Parent-child pairs differ in how they structure their interactions and gender of parent and of child appears to affect how frequently and explicitly connections are drawn between actions, beliefs, and reality. Reading a familiar story with a new person allows the child to assume a more active “expert” role.
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