Relations among false-belief understanding, executive function, and social competence: A longitudinal analysis

Open Access
- Author:
- Razza, Rachel Anne
- Graduate Program:
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- January 07, 2005
- Committee Members:
- Clancy Blair, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Cynthia Stifter, Committee Member
Scott David Gest, Committee Member
Pamela Marie Cole, Committee Member - Keywords:
- false-belief
social cognition
social competence
executive function
early childhood
Head Start
low-income
theory of mind
longitudinal - Abstract:
- During the preschool years, children acquire an understanding of false-belief; that is, they recognize that people can believe things that are untrue. The extant literature suggests that false-belief understanding has important correlates during early childhood, which include language ability, executive function, and social competence. The majority of previous studies, however, have been cross-sectional and limited to a select high-income population. The present study explored longitudinal relations among false-belief and its correlates within a Head Start sample. Sixty-nine children (average age = 5 years 1 month) were assessed during the spring of their preschool year and again in the spring of their kindergarten year. Children’s false-belief understanding, language ability, and executive function were assessed directly with laboratory tasks. Social competence was measured via teacher report. Results indicate a bidirectional relation between false-belief understanding and social competence, which exists independent of children’s language ability. In contrast, concurrent, rather than longitudinal, relations were reported between false-belief understanding and executive function. False-belief understanding was supported as a mediator of the longitudinal relation between executive function and social competence. There was no evidence, however, that gender moderated relations between false-belief understanding and its correlates. These findings represent a significant contribution to the false-belief literature and have important implications for future research and practice.