Few studies have examined the influence of environmental factors on children's executive functioning (EF) performance. The present study examined the effects of a punitive vs. non-punitive school environment on West African children's EF skills. Tasks included a "cool" (relatively non-affective) and "hot" (relatively…

Preschoolers' theory of mind (ToM) was examined in relation to emotional features of their conflicts with siblings, using mothers as privileged informants. Fifty-four children aged 3 to 5 years and their 54 mothers took part. Children were given 10 standard false belief tasks and a standardized language test. Mothers completed questionnaires,…

This study investigated how 4- to 7-year-old children's second-order belief attribution might be facilitated by either reducing information processing or varying the sequence of task questions. In Experiment 1, compared with Perner and Wimmer's (1985) original second-order false-belief task, a new task with reduced information-processing demands…

There is considerable interest in the role of mental state language in theory of mind development. This study examines cognitive and desire state discourse of 43 mothers during play interactions with their two-year-old children and theory of mind as indicated by a battery of false belief tasks around the age of five. Desire state comments of…

Highlights the strengths of the Halberstadt et al. contribution to the literature on social-emotional development. Discusses three issues relating to their model: (1) the inseparability of cognitive representation in both emotional and social functioning; (2) the role played by context; and (3) the significance of goals in any construct involving…