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A new false belief test for 36-month-olds

Publication ,  Journal Article
Carpenter, M; Call, J; Tomasello, M
Published in: British Journal of Developmental Psychology
September 1, 2002

We report two studies that suggest that some 36-month-old (and younger) children understand others' false beliefs. In the false belief conditions, children and two adults (E1 and E2) watched as an object was put into a container. E1 left the room, and E2 switched that object with another. E1 returned, expressed her desire for the object, and struggled to open the container (without succeeding). She spied both objects across the room and said to the child. 'Oh, there it is. Can you get it for me?' In other conditions, the object was not switched or E1 witnessed the switch. Other variations included using a novel word for the object and removing the 'pull of the real'. Measures of children's latency and uncertainty were taken to determine whether those who were correct on the false belief tasks were guessing (luckily) or truly understanding. Results showed that between one-third and almost two-thirds of children took account of the adult's false belief when deciding which object the adult was requesting. We compare this task with other implicit and explicit tasks. We also conclude that certain task demands (e.g. the pull of the real) in traditional theory of mind assessments are unnecessary.

Duke Scholars

Published In

British Journal of Developmental Psychology

DOI

ISSN

0261-510X

Publication Date

September 1, 2002

Volume

20

Issue

3

Start / End Page

393 / 420

Related Subject Headings

  • Developmental & Child Psychology
  • 5205 Social and personality psychology
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
  • 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences
  • 1701 Psychology
 

Citation

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ICMJE
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Carpenter, M., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. (2002). A new false belief test for 36-month-olds. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 20(3), 393–420. https://doi.org/10.1348/026151002320620316
Carpenter, M., J. Call, and M. Tomasello. “A new false belief test for 36-month-olds.” British Journal of Developmental Psychology 20, no. 3 (September 1, 2002): 393–420. https://doi.org/10.1348/026151002320620316.
Carpenter M, Call J, Tomasello M. A new false belief test for 36-month-olds. British Journal of Developmental Psychology. 2002 Sep 1;20(3):393–420.
Carpenter, M., et al. “A new false belief test for 36-month-olds.” British Journal of Developmental Psychology, vol. 20, no. 3, Sept. 2002, pp. 393–420. Scopus, doi:10.1348/026151002320620316.
Carpenter M, Call J, Tomasello M. A new false belief test for 36-month-olds. British Journal of Developmental Psychology. 2002 Sep 1;20(3):393–420.
Journal cover image

Published In

British Journal of Developmental Psychology

DOI

ISSN

0261-510X

Publication Date

September 1, 2002

Volume

20

Issue

3

Start / End Page

393 / 420

Related Subject Headings

  • Developmental & Child Psychology
  • 5205 Social and personality psychology
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
  • 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences
  • 1701 Psychology