Young children's representational theory of mind in understanding masked facial expression

Abstract

In this study, development of young children's understandings of masked facial expression was examined from the perspective of the development of "theory of mind". In Experiment 1, short stories in which one character masks facial expressions to make another character have false beliefs were presented to 3-, 4-, and 6-year-old. They were asked questions to assess their judgements on various mental states (desire, belief, and intention) of story characters. And, to assess children's "representational theory of mind", they performed a "Smaties Task". The results showed that recognition of masked facial expression was developed from 3 to 4 years. Scores on "Smaties Task" was also improved duing the same period. An additional analysis showed that the major determinant of to determine the understanding of masked facial expression was not the age but the possession of "representational theory of mind". In Experiment 2 more sophisticated but similar type of procedures were presented to 3- and 4-year-old children. Results replicated the results in Experiment 1 and the understanding of the intention of characters was also found to develop from 3 to 4 years.