Mental State Language Research Articles

Exploring the impact of parental education, ethnicity and context on parent and child mental-state language

The mental-state language used in parent-child interactions relates to many aspects of early socio-cognitive development and thus it is important to understand the factors that influence this talk. This study investigated three such factors: socioeconomic status (measured via parental education), ethnicity (Hispanic, non-Hispanic), and interaction context. 55 parents and their 3-year-olds (29 female) participated in two semi-structured interactions (picture-book sharing, free play), and their mental-state language (cognition, emotion, and desire terms) was coded. Context impacted both parent and child mental-state language, though the nature of this effect varied across type of mental-state term, parental education, and ethnicity. We also found that higher-educated parents produced more cognition talk than lower-educated parents and this difference was larger for non-Hispanic dyads. These results suggest multiple factors interact to impact parent and child mental-state language and underscore the importance of examining this language in diverse samples and interactive contexts.

Mentalizing Emotions and Social Cognition in Bullies and Victims.

Mentalizing is the ability to represent mental states to navigate the social world. A reduced mentalizing ability is a risk factor for a variety of psychological issues. Several studies indicated deficits in social cognition in bullies and victims, specifically in mentalizing anger. However, only a few studies investigated mentalizing abilities related to both anger and happiness in pre-adolescence. Our study investigated possible differences in the ability to mentalize anger and happiness in preadolescent bullies and victims, compared to a control group. We interviewed 104 preadolescents (44% males; 56% females; M = 13.2 years; SD = 0.82) and administered the Olweus Questionnaire to identify bullies and victims. We applied a narrative approach to investigate the mental state language referred to anger and happiness. The results indicated a reduced ability to mentalize anger in bullies and victims compared to controls. Both bullies and victims tended to consider anger and happiness predominantly as behavioral conditions rather than a state of mind. These results highlight the need to promote effective intervention programs to prevent bullying by enhancing appropriate mentalization of emotions in pre-adolescents.

Parental Mentalizing During a Pandemic: Use of Mental-State Language on Parenting Social Media Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a demanding caregiving context for parents, particularly during lockdowns. In this study, we examined parental mentalization, parents’ proclivity to consider their own and their child’s mental states, during the pandemic, as manifested in mental-state language (MSL) on parenting social media. Parenting-related posts on Reddit from two time periods in the pandemic in 2020, March to April (lockdown) and July to August (postlockdown), were compared with time-matched control periods in 2019. MSL and self–other references were measured using text-analysis methods. Parental mentalization content decreased during the pandemic: Posts referred less to mental activities and to other people during the COVID-19 pandemic and showed decreased affective MSL, cognitive MSL, and self-references specifically during lockdown. Father-specific subreddits exhibited strongest declines in mentalization content, whereas mother-specific subreddits exhibited smaller changes. Implications on understanding associations between caregiving contexts and parental mentalization, gender differences, and the value of using social-media data to study parenting and mentalizing are discussed.

Mental state language in Chinese educator-infant conversational interactions during structured and free play

ABSTRACT Mental State Language (MSL) is language that refers to individuals’ inner states, including terms relating to emotion, desire-&-preference, perception and cognition. This study explores the nature of eight Chinese educators’ MSL in their interactions with infants during structured and free play. In total, 3169 language messages (one message includes a subject and a verb) were analyzed and it was revealed that MSL messages make up 7.7% of the educators’ language. In conversational interactions, educators’ MSL appeared more frequently in structured than in free play. The desire-&-preference terms were used most frequently and tended to trigger short conversational interactions (3–4 turns). Combining the analysis of communicative functions (question, statement, command, offer), MSL of cognition and perception presented in question facilitated long conversational interactions (5 turns or above). These findings inform educators about how to use MSL effectively. It raises the consideration of balancing structured and free play in nursery routines that could vary in different cultures.

Mothers' Use of Regulatory Talk with Toddlers in Chile and the US: How Do Cultural Values and Children's Gender Affect Mothers' Regulatory Talk at 12 and 30 Months?

Studies have shown that Chilean and US infants differ in their levels of self-regulation. One of the mechanisms of early socializing is the use of language, particularly mental state language. The current study seeks to deepen our knowledge of the ways in which mental state language is related to socialization processes in early childhood, including the ways both culture and children’s gender influence a mothers’ use of mental state talk. We used a quantitative and descriptive approach with 109 mothers and their children (64 Chilean and 45 US dyads), measured twice, at 12 and 30 months old. Mental state references related to regulation were coded during a story-sharing task, including positive (calm and patient) and negative (messy and impatient) references to regulating behavior. Chilean mothers generally showed more regulatory references than US mothers, especially if the children were at a younger age (12 month). Frequencies of regulatory references increased in US mothers at 30 months but were still less than in Chilean mothers. At the 12-month measuring point, Chilean mothers showed more negative regulatory attributes than positive regulatory attributes. Finally, US mothers mainly used references to secondary emotions (e.g., pride) and positive regulatory attributes (being obedient, mature and patient) at both ages.

Mental State Language Experiences of Chinese Preschool Children in Their Interactions with Peers and Educators during Free Play

Mental State Language Experiences of Chinese Preschool Children in Their Interactions with Peers and Educators during Free Play

Emotion recognition, self-knowledge, and perceptions of leisure time activities in emerging adolescents: A longitudinal study

ABSTRACT This 2-year short-term longitudinal study explored Canadian emerging adolescents’ ability to recognize emotions in others, their spontaneous descriptions of themselves and self-understandings, and their narrative and pictorial accounts of themselves engaged in leisure time activities. As part of a larger 5-year longitudinal study, this study describes results from Time 1 (2015–16), 146 Grade 8 students, 97 female, M age = 12.5 y, and Time 2 (2016–17) data from 46 Grade 9 students (33 females; M age = 13.5 y) from eight schools . Participants completed the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, self-descriptions, drew and/or wrote a story to describe an enjoyable leisure time activity, and a self-understanding interview (SU). Self-descriptions and stories were also coded for the frequency of mental state language (MSL). Results showed positive correlations between T1 Emotion Recognition (ER) and T1 MSL in drawings of leisure time and between T2 ER and T2 SU. Higher levels of ER in younger adolescents predicted higher levels of SU 1 year later, and T1 SU predicted T2 ER. Across 2 years, ER remained stable, older adolescents scored higher than younger on SU, and girls scored higher than boys on ER. Implications for theory and educational applications are discussed.

Language as a window into mind perception: How mental state language differentiates body and mind, human and nonhuman, and the self from others.

Mind perception-the attribution of mental states to humans and nonhuman entities-is an essential element of social cognition (distinct from related constructs such as perspective-taking and attribution). Despite its importance, research often captures this construct in hypothetical and atypical situations. We therefore used a novel text analysis tool-the Mind Perception Dictionary (MPD)-to measure linguistic use of mind perception (words related to "agency" and "experience") in naturalistic settings (externally valid contexts in the world unprompted by experimental demand) and test basic theoretical claims across 15 total studies (N = 7713). Initial validation studies show that the MPD reliably captures language referring to mental states when people focus more versus less on a stimulus's mental capacities. Studies 2A-5B illustrate that people use the concept of mind to distinguish friends from acquaintances (Studies 2A and 2B), human from nonhuman entities (technology in Studies 3A and 3B; nonhuman animals in Studies 4A and 4B), and the self from others (Studies 5A and 5B). Studies 6A-6C use the MPD to show meaningful differences in mind perception in naturalistic contexts (externally valid contexts in the world unprompted by experimental demand) and to reveal downstream consequences of mental state language. Together these studies show that mind perception is a generalizable psychological phenomenon that emerges in natural contexts and that systematically varies across stimuli perceived to be more or less human. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Mental State Language Use in Children with Down Syndrome and the Role of Caregivers.

Children with Down syndrome (DS) have both strengths and difficulties in speech, language, and social communication. Mental state language-the ability to discuss others' perspectives such as their thoughts, feelings, and intentions-represents a foundational social communicative skill that is delayed in many children with DS, even into the school-age years. The purpose of this article is to review the evidence base on mental state language development in school-age children with DS, focusing in particular on assessment and intervention. We discuss assessment procedures that are both age appropriate and developmentally appropriate for this population. We also present preliminary data highlighting the role of caregivers in supporting mental state language development in school-age children with DS through shared storytelling. We propose that interventions aimed at supporting mental state language development in DS should include a focus on caregiver-child shared storybook reading, even in the school-age years. Therefore, we discuss key considerations for clinicians when teaching caregivers strategies for supporting mental state language and social communication in children with DS.

How children’s social tendencies can shape their theory of mind development: Access and attention to social information

A wealth of research and theorizing has been dedicated to the idea that children’s theory of mind (ToM) development is contingent upon qualities of their social contexts (e.g., parents’ mental-state language use, the presence of siblings). We highlight the importance of considering the child as an active observer and participant in these social contexts, and thus an agent in their own ToM development. Drawing on research and theory that emphasizes the child’s active role in ToM development, we identify child-level social factors that may be critical in explaining individual differences in this development. Specifically, we focus on variability in children’s ‘social tendencies’—how they attend to social contexts, and how they interact within and shape those contexts. These tendencies may influence the social information that children garner from social contexts—information that they use to construct a ToM. We review and integrate a growing body of research that has established empirical links between individual differences in children’s ToM and their social tendencies—specifically, factors such as their social attentiveness, shyness, anxious-withdrawal, and aggressiveness. Taken together, these findings inform continued debates on whether and how social contexts and children’s participation in those contexts influence children’s ToM, particularly with regard to how children construct their ToM. We conclude with suggestions for continued research on these topics.

Pragmatics in the elementary school years: the contribute of mental state language used in narrative and persuasive texts

The purpose of the current study was to verify whether mental state language (MSL), as derived from narrative and persuasive writings, impacted on pragmatic abilities. Seventy-five third-grade and 84 fifth-grade pupils were enrolled. The study involved two assessment time-points. At T1, narrative and persuasive writing tasks were administered, and MSL was obtained for the both kinds of the tasks. Three months later at T2, pragmatic abilities were evaluated. Results showed that MSL used in persuasive text predicted pragmatic ability only among the fifth graders, controlling for gender. These results were discussed through the lens of past investigations and new lines of research were suggested for educational context.

With Language in Mind

ABSTRACT Does language have a role to play in conceptual development, and if so, what is that role? Understanding the contents of another person’s mind parallels the development in early childhood of mental state language. Does the conceptual understanding get reflected in and drive the language development, or does the language allow the representation of propositional attitudes like belief? The paper reviews the evidence and sets up the terms of the debate, focusing on the syntax for mental states. It also asks whether syntax development could serve as a scaffold for other concepts that are described by propositions rather than labels. Finally, it reviews experimentation on the syntax of embedded clauses, where subtle phenomena are acquired for which it is impossible to imagine nonverbal counterparts: here, language is human thinking.

Relational Factors in Pragmatic Skill Development: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Infants and Toddlers.

In this article, we review relational factors in early childhood believed to contribute in unique ways to pragmatic skill development in deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) infants and toddlers. These factors include attending to infant interactions with caregivers and others, supporting development of theory of mind through play and use of mental state language (ie, describing one's own or others' thoughts, feelings, and beliefs), and providing accessible opportunities for social interaction. On the basis of a review of the literature and clinical experience, we offer prescriptive strategies for supporting DHH children's development in these areas. To improve outcomes for DHH children, medical care providers and allied health professionals have a responsibility to support the development of young DHH children's pragmatic abilities by understanding these variables, coaching caregivers regarding their importance, and facilitating referrals for support when necessary.

Differential Effects of the Home Language and Literacy Environment on Child Language and Theory of Mind and Their Relation to Socioeconomic Background.

In this study, we examined differential effects of facets of the home language and literacy environment that are known to be relevant to either language development (i.e., quantity and quality of language and literacy stimulation at home) or theory of mind (ToM) development (i.e., parental mental state language), on both children’s language skills and their ToM understanding. Moreover, we investigated whether these relations are particularly relevant for children from homes with low socioeconomic status (SES) and whether they account for SES-related disparities in child language skills and ToM understanding. Using longitudinal data of a sample of 224 monolingual German preschool children (assessment of language skills at age 4;6 and 5;6 and ToM at age 5;6), we analyzed the effects of three facets of the home language and literacy environment on later child language and ToM understanding. These facets were book exposure as a measure for quantity of language and literacy stimulation at home, quality of verbal interaction, and parental mental state language assessed between ages 3 and 4. Path analyses showed that book exposure is related to both later ToM understanding and language skills at age 5;6 years; yet, this effect is mediated by earlier language skills at age 4;6 years. Furthermore, book exposure partly mediated the association between SES and language skills and, via earlier language skills at age 4;6, also the relation between SES and ToM. When focusing on children from lower SES families, book exposure and quality of verbal stimulation predicted children’s later language skills at age 4;6. Book exposure also predicted change in language skills between age 4;6 and age 5;6. Further, book exposure proved to be significantly associated with children’s ToM understanding at age 5;6 via the relation with language skills at 4;6 years. In addition, parental mental state language predicted children’s ToM understanding at age 5;6 years. Our findings provide new evidence on how different facets of the home language and literacy environment are related to ToM and language development and their interrelation as well as their SES-related disparities.

Early linguistic reference to first and second person depends on social understanding as well as language skills: Evidence from Czech 30-month-olds

The early use of first and second person pronouns has been viewed as a sign of emerging social understanding. However, it may also depend on general language development: pronouns do not appear among the first words children acquire. In addition, some languages conjugate verbs for person, and the inflections may thus show similar relations to social understanding and language as pronouns. Very few studies have examined the relations between early person reference on the one hand and both social understanding and language development on the other. The present study used data on spontaneous language transcripts and language tasks from 58 Czech-speaking children aged 30 months to examine the relations between person reference, social understanding, and general language development. Social understanding was estimated from children’s use of the mental state language (MSL). The results confirm that both MSL and general language development show unique relations to person reference with pronouns as well as verbs.

Early Language Competencies and Advanced Measures of Mental State Understanding Are Differently Related to Listening and Reading Comprehension in Early Adolescence.

The present study tests a section of the DIET (direct and indirect effects model of text comprehension; Kim, 2017) model and focuses on the relations between early language skills, various facets of mental state understanding, and text comprehension. In a sample of 267 children, I analyzed the relations between language skills (vocabulary, sentence comprehension) at age 3;6, theory of mind (ToM) at age 5;6, mental state language and metacognitive knowledge at age 9;2, and children’s listening and reading comprehension of texts at age 13;7 years. For reading comprehension, results favored a total mediation model that included only direct links from metacognitive knowledge and mental state language to reading comprehension. For listening comprehension, by contrast, a model that also included direct relations from language and ToM in preschool was favored. Metacognitive skills did not mediate the relation between early skills and later text comprehension but, along with mental state language, showed direct relations with reading comprehension beyond listening comprehension. Early language skills showed various indirect relations with later reading comprehension via ToM, mental state language, and listening comprehension, whereas ToM showed only small indirect relations with later reading comprehension via later listening comprehension. These different relations of the various components with later listening in contrast to reading comprehension are discussed.

Perceiving and attributing intentionality in schizophrenia

ABSTRACT Introduction: People with schizophrenia perform poorly on theory-of-mind (ToM) tasks. They also generate less mental-state language to describe test stimuli depicting intentionality. Some of these individuals also show excessive mentalising when objective cues of intentionality are absent. We tested perceiving and attributing intentionality to resolve this paradox. Methods: 23 schizophrenia patients and 20 healthy controls completed the chasing detection task to assess perceptual sensitivity to cues of intentionality. Other tasks assessed spontaneous attributions of intentionality (irrespective of accuracy) and accurate ToM inferences. Results: Perceptual sensitivity to cues of intentionality did not differ between groups. Patients were less likely to spontaneously attribute intentionality (irrespective of accuracy) or perform ToM tasks accurately. Chasing-detection response bias, but not perceptual sensitivity, correlated with attributions of intentionality. Referential (and to less extent) persecutory ideation associated with excessive mentalising when cues of intentionality were absent. Conclusions: Intentionality can be directly perceived, independent of attributions or inferences, in people with schizophrenia. We conclude that the flow of information from intact perceptual detection to evoke spontaneous attributions of intentionality is disrupted in schizophrenia, with flow-on detrimental effects on accurate ToM reasoning. Referential/persecutory ideation motivates inappropriate mentalising when objective cues of intentionality are absent.

"What Was His Name, Again?": A New Method for Reducing Memory-Based Errors in an Adult False-Belief Task.

Despite considerable interest in the development of Theory of Mind (ToM) during early childhood, until recently, there has been little consideration about whether and how ToM skills continue to change into adulthood. Furthermore, the false-belief task, which is believed to capture the underlying mechanisms of ToM, is rarely used in studies of ToM with adults; those tasks that do assess false-belief understanding may be confounded by incidental task demands, such as complex narratives and excessive memory requirements, making it difficult to isolate adults’ true ToM skills, much less to compare them with the skills of children. Here, we adapted a task developed by Valle, Massaro, Castelli, and Marchetti (2015, https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v11i1.829) to assess false-belief understanding in adults. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions. In the reading condition, participants read a story about the unexpected transfer of a ball between three brothers. In the video condition, participants watched a video version of the same story. Finally, in the training condition, participants were first trained on the names of the characters, before watching the video. Although condition did not affect participants’ ability to correctly answer a standard false belief question (“Where does X think Y thinks the ball is?”), participants in the training condition used more mental state language to justify their responses (“Why does X think Y thinks the ball is here?”), and this improved performance was mediated by improved memory for the story details. We conclude that at least some “failures” of ToM use may be due to an inability to understand, recall, or communicate complex information in a ToM task, raising important questions about how best to measure ToM in adults (and children) in the future.

Cross-Sectional Trajectories of Mental State Language Development in Children With Down Syndrome.

Purpose This article (a) examined the cross-sectional trajectories of mental state language use in children with Down syndrome (DS) and (b) identified developmental factors associated with its use. Method Forty children with DS aged 6-11 years generated stories from a wordless picture book and completed an assessment battery of other linguistic, cognitive, and social-emotional skills. Their narratives were coded for mental state language density (the proportion of utterances containing mental state references) and diversity (the number of different mental state terms used). Results The emergence of mental state language use during narrative storytelling was observed across the sample; 0%-24% of children's utterances included references to mental states, and a variety of mental state terms were produced. Cross-sectional developmental trajectory analysis revealed that expressive vocabulary and morphosyntax were significantly related to increased mental state language density and diversity. Nonverbal emotion knowledge was significantly related to greater diversity of mental state terms used. Age and nonverbal cognition were not significant factors. Conclusions This first in-depth, within-syndrome characterization of mental state language use by school-age children with DS provides an important next step for understanding mental state and narrative development in this population. By identifying skills associated with the development of mental state language, this study provides an avenue for future longitudinal research to determine causal relationships, ultimately informing intervention efforts.

Use of Mental State Language during Educator-Child and Mother-Child Conversations about the Past and Future

ABSTRACT Research findings No research to date has compared mental state language (MSL) in conversations between children and different adult talk partners, such as mothers and educators. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of MSL (verbalization of mental states such as remembering, knowing and thinking) by children, educators, and mothers during conversations about the past and future. Eighty-five educator-child dyads from seven childcare centers in Sydney, Australia participated in eight conversations that varied by temporal (past/future) and novelty (novel/familiar) focus. Ten educators talked with 40 younger children (27–36 months), and 11 talked with 45 older children (48–60 months). A subsample of 42 mother-child dyads completed the same tasks: 20 with the younger children (27–36 months) and 22 with the older children (48–60 months). Educators used significantly more MSL than mothers. Compared to diploma-qualified educators, degree trained educators were especially likely to use more MSL. Educators’ MSL was significantly associated with children’s MSL for future talk conversations only. Practice or Policy: Educators’ and mothers’ MSL may influence children in different ways. Pre-service teacher training appears to facilitate educators’ own use of MSL. More research is needed to determine why children use more MSL with their mothers than with their educators.