Abstract
Theory of Mind (ToM) is related to reading comprehension in hearing children. In the present study, we investigated progression in ToM in Swedish deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) signing children who were learning to read, as well as the association of ToM with reading comprehension. Thirteen children at Swedish state primary schools for DHH children performed a Swedish Sign Language (SSL) version of the Wellman and Liu (2004) ToM scale, along with tests of reading comprehension, SSL comprehension, and working memory. Results indicated that ToM progression did not differ from that reported in previous studies, although ToM development was delayed despite age-appropriate sign language skills. Correlation analysis revealed that ToM was associated with reading comprehension and working memory, but not sign language comprehension. We propose that some factor not investigated in the present study, possibly represented by inference making constrained by working memory capacity, supports both ToM and reading comprehension and may thus explain the results observed in the present study.
Highlights
Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to understand and predict the mental worlds of oneself and others and how they relate to behavior (Frith and Frith, 2012), or, to represent and understand minds
This reveals that the developmental progression of participants in the present study did not differ from that found in previous studies relating to children with typical development (Wellman and Liu, 2004; Peterson et al, 2005, 2012; Henning et al, 2011; Wu and Su, 2014) and deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) signing children (Peterson et al, 2005, 2012)
Developmental progression did not differ from that demonstrated in earlier studies, there was a clear delay in development of ToM
Summary
Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to understand and predict the mental worlds of oneself and others and how they relate to behavior (Frith and Frith, 2012), or, to represent and understand minds. Using a fivepoint scale, Wellman and Liu (2004) showed that ToM is an ability with a developmental progression, in which representation and understanding of mind emerge in a specific order over time. Their original finding relating to North American children has been replicated in other cultures (e.g., Germany: Henning et al, 2011; China: Wu and Su, 2014; for a review, see Wellman, 2014). The second stage, typically emerging at the age of three, is the ability to understand that the beliefs of oneself and
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