Theory of mind for learning and teaching: the nature and role of explanation

The relationship between “theory of mind” and teaching is deep and complex. We focus on one particularly powerful link that is based on the role of children's psychological explanations in their learning. Psychological explanations involve explaining persons’ actions and lives as the causes and consequences of their mental states. We begin by showing that psychological explanations are central to children's developing theories of mind—they are part of the mechanism for development in this domain. We then review theory and data suggesting that psychological explanations are also critically important for learning and being taught more generally.