Abstract: Children's theory of mind is a research hotspot in developmental psychology in recent years. It is of great significance to explore the theory of mind for children's development. This paper mainly summarizes the following aspects: the concept of children's theory of mind, the development and influencing factors of children's theory of mind, the theoretical explanation of children's theory of mind and the research trend of children's theory of mind

Keywords: children's theory of mind; Theoretical research; influencing factor

China Library Classification Number: G640 Document Identification Number: B Document Number:1002-7661(2014) 01-008-01.

First, the concept of children's theory of mind

1978, Premack and Woodruff first proposed it in the experimental study of chimpanzees. Theory of mind? In their view, theory of mind refers to the ability to infer the psychological state of others. 1983, winner &; Pemmer discussed the theory of mind from the perspective of developmental psychology, and created the famous? False beliefs? The research paradigm of.

Astington and others believe that individuals' reasoning or cognition of other people's psychological state and the relationship between other people's behavior and their psychological state. Happe and others believe that the theory of mind refers to the understanding of the psychological state of oneself and others (such as beliefs, needs, wishes, intentions, perceptions, knowledge, emotions, etc.). ), and thus make causal prediction and explanation for the corresponding behavior.

Second, the development of children's theory of mind and its influencing factors

1, family factors

Family is the most direct and concrete environment that affects children's psychological development and the main place for children's socialization. The main influencing factors are: the number of brothers and sisters in the family and the family language style.

The influence of the number of siblings on children's theory of mind. The research results of Perna Loughman & ampLeekman( 1994) show that family size is an important variable that affects children's understanding of fallacious beliefs, and there is a significant correlation between the number of siblings children have and their scores on fallacious beliefs. But the results have no significant relationship with whether the children have more brothers and sisters or more brothers and sisters. Research by Engins and Astin found that children with more siblings scored higher on false belief tasks than children with more siblings.

The influence of family language style on theory of mind. Jenkins and Ast- ington( 1996) believe that brothers and sisters can promote the development of children's theory of mind, because they can provide more opportunities for children to communicate and expose them to different viewpoints.

2. Peer relationship

Peer relationship refers to a kind of interpersonal relationship established and developed by peers or individuals with the same psychological development level in the process of communication.

Peer relationship has potential influence on the development of children's theory of mind. Slaughter and others' research on children aged 4-6 found that popular children can understand the psychological state of others better than rejected children. Badenes and others' research also shows that the correlation between theory of mind ability and peer acceptance is influenced by many factors, and the two are not simple one-to-one correspondence, but complex and diverse interactions.

Third, the theoretical explanation of children's theory of mind.

1, theory

The main representatives of theoretical theories are H. Velman, J. fravel, A. Copniko, etc. They think that children have no prior knowledge about psychological theory, and children's understanding of psychological state is a process of continuous construction through experience, and psychological knowledge gradually forms a theoretical knowledge system, but this knowledge system is not a real scientific theory, but a daily framework or basic theory.

2. Simulation theory

Gordon is a representative of simulation theory, which holds that children gain an understanding of mental state and its causal relationship with behavior through imitation (that is, putting themselves in others' shoes), and simulation theory also emphasizes the shaping role of experience.

3. Modularization theory

Modular theory tries to explain the natural factors in the development of children's theory of mind. Its main representatives are Alan Leslie and Simon Baron-Cohen, who believe that children can mature in neurophysiology through innate modules, thus gaining an understanding of their psychological state. Namely. Theory of mind? It appears with the maturity of children's hearts, and experience only triggers the emergence of theory of mind.

Fourthly, the research trend of children's theory of mind.

1 Lifelong Orientation of Theory of Mind Research

With the deepening of children's theory of mind research, researchers began to focus on the whole process of human life. Kuhn clearly advocated combining the research of theory of mind with the research of cognition and understanding, and put forward the lifelong development view of theory of mind, which is considered as a lifelong task. The research on the lifelong development of theory of mind has great room for development, but a lot of empirical research is needed to explore the mechanism of the development of school-age or adult individuals' theory of mind ability.

2. Applied research of theory of mind.

Individuals who have acquired the theory of mind do not necessarily use it to infer the psychology and behavior of others, thus helping others make correct decisions. At the same time, different individual mental theories are used in different ways. What are the factors that affect individuals' use of theory of mind? How are these factors affected? There is no clear answer yet. Therefore, the application of theory of mind will become another research hotspot.

3. Neuropsychological research on brain mechanism.

At present, the research rarely involves the neurophysiological basis of theory of mind, which is of great value to the development mechanism of theory of mind and the development and treatment of theory of mind for special children.

References:

[ 1] Premack。 Doctor, & Woodruff, f. g .( 1978). Do chimpanzees have a theory of mind [J]. Behavior and brain science, 1, 5 15-526.

[2] Astin. J.W. & pelletier. J. the language of thinking: the role in teamwork and teaching. Learning, teaching and school education. Oxford, England: Blackwell1996,593-619.

[3] Bjorklund SAR (1995). Children? S thinking [M]. Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.

[4] Pena J. Loughman. t & amp； Rickman, S. R. (1994). Theory of mind is contagious: you will get it from your brothers and sisters. Child development, 65, 1228- 1238.