Rozwój dziecięcych teorii umysłu a płeć i kompetencja komunikacyjna

Children’s theories of mind development in relation to gender and communicative competenceThe aim of the research was the analysis of: (1) related to gender differences in the acquisition of theory of mind (TOM) and the level of communicative competence; (2) the relation between communicative competence and theory of mind and (3) identifinig the role of gender in the relation between communicative competence and TOM acquisition among preschoolers. 42 children at the age of 4 participated in the research. Two tasks were used for TOM diagnosis – Unexpected Transfer Test created by Heinz Wimmer and Josef Perner (1983; in: Astington, Jenkins, 1995) and Deceptive Box Test developed by J. Perner, Susan R. Leekam and H. Wimmer (1987), as well as one method for investigating the level of communicative competence – The Scale for Testing Communicative Competence introduced by Maria Kielar-Turska, Maria Ligęza and Marta Białecka-Pikul (Kielar-Turska, 1994). The results indicate that there are no differences in communicative competence and mindreading abilities between 4-year-old girls and boys. However the findings suggest the greater role of communicative skills in TOM acquisition among boys than girls.