Young Children's Theory of Mind and Emotion

Abstract

In three experiments, children aged 3 to 7 years were tested for their understanding of the impact of beliefs and desires on emotion. Children watched while animal characters were offered various types of container and then predicted their emotional reaction. In Experiment 1, the children (but not the characters) knew that the desirable contents of each container had been removed. The majority of 6-year-olds and a minority of 4-year-olds understood that the characters would be happy with the gift, given their mistaken belief about its contents. In Experiment 2, characters were given containers apparently containing an object they wanted but really containing an object they did not want, or vice versa. Predictions of emotion based on both the desire and the mistaken belief of the characters increased with age. In Experiment 3, characters were given closed containers that might or might not contain an item they wanted. Both 3-and 5-year-olds grasped that the characters' emotional reaction would depend on both their (unconfirmed) beliefs and desires about its content.

The experiments show that preschool children deploy a theory-like conception of mind in predicting emotional reactions. They understand that the emotional impact of a situation depends not on its objective features but on the beliefs and desires that are brought to it.     

Book reviews

J. Roger Saydah. The Ethical Theory of Clarence Irving Lewis. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1969. Pp. 171. Indexed. $7.50.

Nicholas Rescher. Many‐Valued Logic. New York: McGraw‐Hill Book Co., 1969. Pp. ix, 359.

EVA Schaper. Prelude to Aesthetics. New York: Humanities Press, 1968. Pp. 179. Indexed. $6.50.

N. Fotion. Moral Situations. Yellow Springs, Ohio: The Antioch Press, 1968. Pp. 124. Indexed. $4.75; paperback $1.05.

John and Shirley Lachs, eds. Physical Order and Moral Liberty. Previously Unpublished Essays by George Santavana. Nashville, Tennessee: Vanderbilt University Press. Pp. xiv, 322. $7.95.

D. C. Armstrong. A Materialist Theory of Mind. New York: Humanities Press, 1968. Pp. xi, 372. Indexed. $8.50.

Annali della Facolta di Lettere et Filosofia, Pubblicazioni dell’ Universita di Barni, Volume XII, Adriatica Editrice, Bari, 1967. Pp. 251.

Bernard Zylstra. From Pluralism to Collectivism: The Development of Harold Laski's Political Thought. New York: Humanities Press, 1968. Pp. 236. $8.00.

Andrew J. Reck. The New American Philosophers: An Exploration of Thought Since “World War II. Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State University Press, 1968. Pp. xxii, 362. $8.95.

Elizabeth Ramsden Eames. Bertrand Russell's Theory of Knowledge. New York: George Braziller, 1969. Pp. 240. Indexed. $6.00.     

Proper methodologies for psychological and sociological studies conducted via the Internet

This paper outlines specific methodologies for conducting research via computer networks. We discuss advantages of Internet experimentation over previous modes of telecommunication-facilitated research and characterize features of studies that can benefit from Internet access and those which are unlikely to. We point out pitfalls and suggest a range of potential solutions in terms of specific practical techniques for managing the design, dissemination, and collection of Internet materials. We also discuss techniques for minimizing attrition and for adapting to recalcitrance presented by “hacker” vandalism.