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The Development of Theory of Mind in Deaf Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 1998

P. A. Russell ,
J. A. Hosie ,
C. D. Gray ,
C. Scott ,
N. Hunter ,
J. S. Banks  and
M. C. Macaulay
P. A. Russell
Affiliation:
University of Aberdeen, U.K.
J. A. Hosie
Affiliation:
University of Aberdeen, U.K.
C. D. Gray
Affiliation:
University of Aberdeen, U.K.
C. Scott
Affiliation:
University of Aberdeen, U.K.
N. Hunter
Affiliation:
University of Aberdeen, U.K.
J. S. Banks
Affiliation:
Aberdeenshire Council, Aberdeen, U.K.
M. C. Macaulay
Affiliation:
Aberdeen School for the Deaf, U.K.
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Abstract

Deaf children aged 4 to 16 years were given a false-belief test of theory of mind. Although the children experienced difficulty with the test, relative to hearing children, confirming a report by Peterson and Siegal (1995), performance was age-related, with a significantly higher proportion of 13- to 16-year-olds passing the test. It was concluded that deaf children raised in a spoken language environment show a developmental delay in theory of mind acquisition. This delay is consistent with the assumption that their early opportunities for learning about mental states are relatively restricted and that the normal development of theory of mind is dependent upon such opportunities.

Keywords

Deafnesstheory of mindfalse beliefearly social experience
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines , Volume 39 , Issue 6 , September 1998 , pp. 903 - 910
Copyright
© 1998 Association for Child Psychology and Psychiatry

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