This thesis focuses on the relationship between theory of mind and language skills in Czech preschoolers. The theoretical part summarizes current knowledge about theory of mind, its relationship to language skills, and some areas of development of preschool children. The empirical part describes the research of the relationship between theory of mind and language skills of Czech preschoolers. Fifty-five children in total participated in this research, twenty children in a younger group (m=42 months), and thirty-five children in an older group (m=54 months). Theory of mind has been assessed by two false-belief tasks: Sally-Ann Task, and Smarties task. Language skills were tested by Grammar reasoning test, and Understanding of grammar test from test battery of Seidlová-Málková and Smolík (2014). The older group has significantly better results in false-belief tasks then the younger group. Despite anticipated results, there was not statistically significant difference between the younger and the older groups' language skills. A moderate positive correlation was found between language skills and false-belief understanding in both groups. KEYWORDS Theory of Mind, False Belief Understanding, Language Skills, Preschoolers, Sally-Ann Task, Smarties Task

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:57:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Anegreice Valerio.pdf: 1120929 bytes, checksum: d8b30b566b522daf1e41d93a3037c97e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-05-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Understanding mental states such as desires, emotions and beliefs is important for the success to our every Day relationships. The acquisition and development of this ability are aspects that have been studied under the name of theory of mind. To study the first manifestations of this comprehension can enable to understand this development. The central objective of this research is to examine the constitution of children s theory of mind. Another objective, a practical one, is to offer assistance for the promotion of activities that favor this development. 58 preschool children of a medium-high socioeconomic level, 29 boys and 29 girls between 1;11 to 3;7 year-olds, were followed for 18 months in 4 gatherings with intervals of 6 months through two procedures: a) observation in playful situation kids were videotaped playing in groups of 4; b) they were given tasks, kids answered individually to tasks of belief and false belief. Verbalizations were typed and submitted to software SPAD-T for treatment and categorization according to the type of attribution of mental states. The performance in the tasks was submitted to the Factorial Analysis. The results showed that the attributions more precocious of mental states to the other one happened at 2 years 5 months (emotion), 2 years and 7 months (desire) and 3 years and 2 months (belief). Differences were found in relation to the period of acquisition in terms related to belief. The most used terms were the verbs gostar (to like), querer (to want) and saber (to know). Other words frequently used were medo (fear), feliz (happy) and triste (sad) at the end of the second year of life and pensar (to think), conhecer (to know), mentir (to lie) and enganar (to cheat) during the third year of life. The factorial analysis revealed that there was age influence in this development and found different profiles of development. The results of both groups of data (verbal manifestations and task performance) were used in the intra-individual analysis of 10 participants and, in all cases, were complemented in the explanation of the behavior of each child / Compreender estados mentais como desejos, emoções e crenças é importante para o êxito de nossas relações cotidianas. A aquisição e o desenvolvimento dessa habilidade são aspectos que têm sido estudados sob o nome de Teoria da Mente. Estudar as primeiras manifestações dessa compreensão pode colaborar para entender esse desenvolvimento. A presente pesquisa é um estudo longitudinal com o objetivo central de examinar a constituição da teoria da mente das crianças. Outro objetivo, de caráter prático, é oferecer subsídios para a promoção de atividades escolares favorecedoras desse desenvolvimento. Participaram da pesquisa 58 crianças, 29 meninos e 29 meninas, entre 1a11m e 3a7m, de uma escola de educação infantil que atende crianças de NSE médio e alto. Os participantes foram acompanhados por 18 meses, em quatro coletas, com intervalos de 6 meses, por meio de dois procedimentos: a) observações em situações lúdicas - as crianças foram vídeo-gravadas brincando em grupos de quatro; b) aplicação de tarefas - as crianças responderam individualmente a tarefas de crença e crença falsa. As verbalizações foram transcritas, submetidas ao software SPAD-T para tratamento e categorizadas segundo o tipo de atribuição de estados mentais. O desempenho nas tarefas foi submetido à Análise Fatorial. Os resultados mostraram que as atribuições mais precoces de estados mentais ao outro ocorreram aos 2a5m (emoção), 2a7m (desejo) e 3a2m (crença). Foram encontradas diferenças em relação ao período de aquisição de termos relativos à crença. Os termos mentais mais utilizados foram os verbos gostar, querer e saber. Outras palavras utilizadas com freqüência foram medo, feliz e triste no final do segundo ano de vida e pensar, conhecer, mentir e enganar durante o terceiro ano. A análise fatorial revelou que houve influência da idade nesse desenvolvimento e encontrou diferentes perfis de desenvolvimento. Os resultados dos dois conjuntos de dados (manifestações verbais e desempenho em tarefas) foram utilizados na análise intra-individual de 10 participantes e, em todos os casos, se complementaram na explicação do comportamento de cada criança

Les enfants d’âge préscolaire (≤ 5 ans) sont plus à risque de subir un traumatisme crânio-cérébral (TCC) que les enfants plus agés, et 90% de ces TCC sont de sévérité légère (TCCL). De nombreuses études publiées dans les deux dernières décennies démontrent que le TCCL pédiatrique peut engendrer des difficultés cognitives, comportementales et psychiatriques en phase aigüe qui, chez certains enfants, peuvent perdurer à long terme. Il existe une littérature florissante concernant l'impact du TCCL sur le fonctionnement social et sur la cognition sociale (les processus cognitifs qui sous-tendent la socialisation) chez les enfants d'âge scolaire et les adolescents. Or, seulement deux études ont examiné l'impact d'un TCCL à l'âge préscolaire sur le développement social et aucune étude ne s'est penchée sur les répercussions socio-cognitives d'un TCCL précoce (à l’âge préscolaire). L'objectif de la présente thèse était donc d'étudier les conséquences du TCCL en bas âge sur la cognition sociale. Pour ce faire, nous avons examiné un aspect de la cognition sociale qui est en plein essor à cet âge, soit la théorie de l'esprit (TE), qui réfère à la capacité de se mettre à la place d'autrui et de comprendre sa perspective. Le premier article avait pour but d'étudier deux sous-composantes de la TE, soit la compréhension des fausses croyances et le raisonnement des désirs et des émotions d'autrui, six mois post-TCCL. Les résultats indiquent que les enfants d'âge préscolaire (18 à 60 mois) qui subissent un TCCL ont une TE significativement moins bonne 6 mois post-TCCL comparativement à un groupe contrôle d'enfants n'ayant subi aucune blessure. Le deuxième article visait à éclaircir l'origine de la diminution de la TE suite à un TCCL précoce. Cet objectif découle du débat qui existe actuellement dans la littérature. En effet, plusieurs scientifiques sont d'avis que l'on peut conclure à un effet découlant de la blessure au cerveau seulement lorsque les enfants ayant subi un TCCL sont comparés à des enfants ayant subi une blessure n'impliquant pas la tête (p.ex., une blessure orthopédique). Cet argument est fondé sur des études qui démontrent qu'en général, les enfants qui sont plus susceptibles de subir une blessure, peu importe la nature de celle-ci, ont des caractéristiques cognitives pré-existantes (p.ex. impulsivité, difficultés attentionnelles). Il s'avère donc possible que les difficultés que nous croyons attribuables à la blessure cérébrale étaient présentes avant même que l'enfant ne subisse un TCCL. Dans cette deuxième étude, nous avons donc comparé les performances aux tâches de TE d'enfants ayant subi un TCCL à ceux d'enfants appartenant à deux groupes contrôles, soit des enfants n'ayant subi aucune blessure et à des pairs ayant subi une blessure orthopédique. De façon générale, les enfants ayant subi un TCCL ont obtenu des performances significativement plus faibles à la tâche évaluant le raisonnement des désirs et des émotions d'autrui, 6 mois post-blessure, comparativement aux deux groupes contrôles. Cette étude visait également à examiner l'évolution de la TE suite à un TCCL, soit de 6 mois à 18 mois post-blessure. Les résultats démontrent que les moindres performances sont maintenues 18 mois post-TCCL. Enfin, le troisième but de cette étude était d’investiguer s’il existe un lien en la performance aux tâches de TE et les habiletés sociales, telles qu’évaluées à l’aide d’un questionnaire rempli par le parent. De façon intéressante, la TE est associée aux habiletés sociales seulement chez les enfants ayant subi un TCCL. Dans l'ensemble, ces deux études mettent en évidence des répercussions spécifiques du TCCL précoce sur la TE qui persistent à long terme, et une TE amoindrie seraient associée à de moins bonnes habiletés sociales. Cette thèse démontre qu'un TCCL en bas âge peut faire obstacle au développement sociocognitif, par le biais de répercussions sur la TE. Ces résultats appuient la théorie selon laquelle le jeune cerveau immature présente une vulnérabilité accrue aux blessures cérébrales. Enfin, ces études mettent en lumière la nécessité d'étudier ce groupe d'âge, plutôt que d'extrapoler à partir de résultats obtenus avec des enfants plus âgés, puisque les enjeux développementaux s'avèrent différents, et que ceux-ci ont potentiellement une influence majeure sur les répercussions d'une blessure cérébrale sur le fonctionnement sociocognitif. / Preschool children (≤ 5 years old) are at particular risk of sustaining traumatic brain injury (TBI) and 90% of these injuries are mild in nature (mTBI). A substantial amount of research has provided evidence of acute and, in more isolated cases, long-term cognitive, behavioral, and psychiatric consequences following mTBI. In the last two decades, there has been an increase in scientific attention dedicated to the social and socio-cognitive (the cognitive functions that underpin socialisation) sequelae of pediatric mTBI; however, research has almost exclusively been conducted with school-aged children and adolescents. Thus, the literature concerning the social repercussions of mTBI remains comparatively sparse in preschool children, with only two studies that have examined social competence following mTBI. No study has investigated the consequences of early (preschool) mTBI on social cognition. Therefore, the overall objective of this thesis was to expand our understanding of the impact of preschool mTBI on social cognition. More specifically, we addressed an aspect of social cognition that typically emerges during the preschool years, that of theory of mind (ToM), known as the capacity to put oneself in others’ shoes and understand their perspective. The first article examined two subcomponents of ToM, that of false belief understanding and desires and emotions reasoning, 6 months post-mTBI. The findings indicate that preschool children (18 to 60 months) who sustain mTBI have significantly poorer ToM skills compared to typically developing peers 6 months post-injury. The second article focused on the debate in the mTBI literature concerning the most appropriate control group for isolating outcomes that are specific to brain injury. Indeed, it is argued that the choice of the control group (community controls vs. injured counterparts) is of paramount importance because it dictates the conclusions that can be drawn in TBI research. It is argued that brain-injury-specific effects constitute a valid conclusion only when compared to injured peers because in general, children who sustain accidental injuries (whether orthopedic or to the head) share certain pre-existing cognitive characteristics (e.g., impulsivity, attentional difficulties) that not only make them more accident-prone but may also be the origin of post-mTBI difficulties. Thus, the aim of the second paper was to determine whether the poorer ToM skills detected in preschool children with mTBI are the result of a general-injury effect or a brain-injury-specific effect. A second goal of this article was to examine the evolution of ToM skills following mTBI, from 6 months to 18 months post-injury. To do so, we compared children with mTBI to both a community control group and an orthopedic injury (OI) control group. The findings indicate that children who sustain mTBI performed worse on the desires and emotions reasoning task 6 months post-injury compared to both injured and uninjured counterparts, and this discrepancy in performance was maintained 18 months post-mTBI. Lastly, the third goal of this study was to investigate the link between performances on ToM tasks and social abilities, as measures by parental questionnaires. Overall, these two studies demonstrate a persistent brain-injury-specific effect on ToM skills following early mTBI, and poorer ToM skills are associated with reduced social functioning. This thesis provides evidence that early mTBI can interfere with socio-cognitive development, notably in terms of its repercussions on ToM. These findings support the theory according to which the young, immature brain is more vulnerable to brain insult. Importantly, our studies demonstrate that extrapolation from conclusions drawn with older pediatric age groups may be erroneous because the developmental issues faced by preschool children are fundamentally different. Indeed, neurodevelopmental immaturity may be a driving force that dictates the impact of mTBI on socio-cognitive functioning.