Abstract
Previous studies have found that understanding another person’s mental states is a requirement for effective responding to
that person. This study examined whether effective responding also requires selecting a relevant mental state of another person.
Using a hypothetical persuasion paradigm, we investigated if late 4- and 5-year-olds (N = 120) could present information to counter a receiver’s opposition. For example, a boy is attempting to persuade his mother
to let him have a bird. If the mother objects to her son having the bird because bird is noisy, then the boy should ask her
to have a quiet bird. Presenting appropriate information (e.g., a quiet bird) was found to be more difficult when the person
had plural beliefs (e.g., a bird would be clean and noisy) and children had to select the source of opposition (e.g., a bird
would be noisy). This suggests that selecting an appropriate mental state of another person is necessary for effective responding.
Contingency and developmental analyses revealed that children could present appropriate information only when they could select
the source, indicating that the ability to select an appropriate mental state is a key factor in responding effectively to
others.
that person. This study examined whether effective responding also requires selecting a relevant mental state of another person.
Using a hypothetical persuasion paradigm, we investigated if late 4- and 5-year-olds (N = 120) could present information to counter a receiver’s opposition. For example, a boy is attempting to persuade his mother
to let him have a bird. If the mother objects to her son having the bird because bird is noisy, then the boy should ask her
to have a quiet bird. Presenting appropriate information (e.g., a quiet bird) was found to be more difficult when the person
had plural beliefs (e.g., a bird would be clean and noisy) and children had to select the source of opposition (e.g., a bird
would be noisy). This suggests that selecting an appropriate mental state of another person is necessary for effective responding.
Contingency and developmental analyses revealed that children could present appropriate information only when they could select
the source, indicating that the ability to select an appropriate mental state is a key factor in responding effectively to
others.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Research in Progress
- Pages 1-8
- DOI 10.1007/s12646-011-0139-1
- Authors
- Tomomi Sato, Department of Psychology, Ochanomizu University, 2-1-1 Otsuka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8610, Japan
- Toshihiro Wakebe, Department of Psychology, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Journal Psychological Studies
- Online ISSN 0974-9861
- Print ISSN 0033-2968