The Development of Children's Understanding of False Belief and the Appearance-Reality Distinction

Recent research has shown parallels between the development of young children's understanding of false belief and their understanding of the appearance-reality distinction. First, both develop between 3 and 4–5 years of age and develop concurrently in individual children. Second, the younger children's difficulties with both concepts seem genuine and deep-seated. Finally, these difficulties are general, in the sense of being evident in a variety of types of beliefs and appearances. Most researchers in this area believe that these developments are mediated by an emerging representational conception of the mind.