Questo studio è composto da due ricerche. La prima riguarda bambini della scuola dell’infanzia di età compresa tra 4 e 6 anni (N=44) ed esplora la comprensione dell’ironia e la sua possibile correlazione tra la comprensione di norme sociali, la teoria della mente e la competenza emotiva. I risultati mostrano come la comprensione delle norme sociali, della loro violazione e le competenze emotive possono aiutare i bambini nella comprensione dell’ironia La seconda ricerca relativa agli adulti (N=88) esplora la correlazione tra teoria della mente ed elaborazione di informazioni ironiche attraverso l’utilizzo dello strumento eye tracker. Lo studio evidenzia relazioni significative tra lo sviluppo della teoria della mente di tipo emotivo e l’elaborazione di informazioni ironiche: nello specifico, si verifica che in presenza di un enunciato ironico, soggetti con una teoria della mente elevata osservano frasi/ disegni che descrivono la realtà dei fatti, mentre soggetti con una teoria della mente meno elevata osservano frasi/ disegni relativi al significato letterale dell’ironia. Ciò sembra confermare il ruolo della teoria della mente nell’elaborare forme di comunicazione non letterali già ad un livello di base, pre-riflessivo come quello qui indagato. / This research consists of two studies. The first, involving school children aged between 4 and 6 years (N = 44), explores the understanding of irony and its possible correlation between social norms understanding, theory of mind and emotional competence. The results show that the understanding of social norms, their violation and emotional skills can help children in irony understanding. The second study related to adults (N = 88), explores the relationship between theory of mind and irony visual elaboration with the eye tracker Instrument. Results found relationships between the development of emotional theory of mind and irony visual elaboration, confirming the role of theory of mind during the growth of the individual to elaborate ironic sentences.

This dissertation represents the first systematic study of the sign language of deaf children with autism. The signing of such children is of particular interest because of the unique ways that some of the known impairments of autism are likely to interact with sign language. In particular, the visual-spatial modality of sign requires signers to understand the visual perspectives of others, a skill which may require theory of mind, which is thought to be delayed in autism (Baron-Cohen et al., 1985). It is hypothesized that an impairment in visual perspective-taking could lead to phonological errors in American Sign Language (ASL), specifically in the parameters of palm orientation, movement, and location. Twenty-five deaf children and adolescents with autism (10 deaf-of-deaf and 15 deaf-of-hearing) between the ages of 4;7 and 20;3 as well as a control group of 13 typically-developing deaf-of-deaf children between the ages of 2;7 and 6;9 were observed in a series of studies, including naturalistic observation, lexical elicitation, fingerspelling, imitation of nonsense gestures, two visual perspective-taking tasks, and a novel sign learning task. The imitation task was also performed on a control group of 24 hearing, non-signing college students. Finally, four deaf mothers of deaf autistic children were interviewed about their children’s signing. Results showed that young deaf-of-deaf autistic children under the age of 10 are prone to making phonological errors involving the palm orientation parameter, substituting an inward palm for an outward palm and vice versa. There is very little evidence that such errors occur in the typical acquisition of ASL or any other sign language. These results indicate that deaf children with autism are impaired from an early age in a cognitive mechanism involved in the acquisition of sign language phonology, though it remains unclear which mechanism(s) might be responsible. This research demonstrates the importance of sign language research for a more complete understanding of autism, as well as the need for research into atypical populations for a better understanding of sign language linguistics. / text

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show significant deficits in communication, emotion recognition, perspective taking, and social skills. One intervention gaining increased attention is the use of computer assisted instruction (CAI) to teach social, emotional and perspective-taking skills to individuals with ASD with the purpose of improving theory of mind skills. This study evaluated the effectiveness of CAI for improving theory of mind skills in four children with high functioning autism ages 5 to 12 years. A single-subject multiple baseline research design across participants was utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of CAI. The software contained 22 instructional scenarios that asked participants to identify emotions of characters based on situational cues displayed in line drawn pictures and audio feedback for correct and incorrect responses. Mind-reading skills were assessed using ten randomly selected scenarios for various emotions and no audio feedback. Visual analysis of the data revealed that all four participants increased mind-reading skills during the CAI condition. Additionally, this study evaluated levels of task engagement during experimental conditions. Three of the four participants showed an increase in task engagement during CAI compared to paper-based social stories used during baseline. Generalization of skills was assessed through the use of social scenarios acted out by family members of participants. All four participants were able to correctly identify emotions displayed in generalization scenarios. Results demonstrated that CAI was an effective and socially viable method for improving ToM skills in children with autism and they could generalize their skills to untrained settings.

L’étude de l’orientation mentale (OM), soit l’habileté des parents à concevoir et à traiter leur enfant comme un individu disposant d’une vie mentale autonome et active (Meins, 1997), a gagné en intérêt grâce à la démonstration de ses associations avec plusieurs sphères du développement de l’enfant, entre autres avec le style d’acquisition linguistique chez les enfants de 20 mois ainsi que le développement de la théorie de l’esprit chez les enfants d’âge préscolaire (p. ex., Meins & Fernyhough, 1999). En dépit de ces résultats, l’étude du développement du vocabulaire et des stades initiaux de la théorie de l’esprit chez les enfants a été négligée dans cette littérature. La présente thèse est composée de trois articles empiriques et vise à combler certaines lacunes de la littérature actuelle. Le premier article vise à examiner les liens longitudinaux entre l’OM maternelle et le vocabulaire expressif chez les enfants de 2 ans. Les deuxième et troisième articles ont pour but d’évaluer les relations longitudinales entre l’OM maternelle, la sécurité d’attachement des enfants et les toutes premières articulations de la théorie de l’esprit chez les enfants de 2 ans, puis 2 ans plus tard, avec la théorie de l’esprit chez les enfants de 4 ans. Les données des trois articles proviennent de cinq visites effectuées au domicile de 84 dyades mère-enfant. À 12 mois, l’OM maternelle a été mesurée lors de jeux libres mère-enfant à l’aide du système de codification de Meins et al. (2001). À 15 mois, la sécurité d’attachement de l’enfant a été mesurée par un observateur avec le Q-Sort d’attachement (Waters & Deane, 1985). À 2 ans, les mères ont évalué le langage de leur enfant à l’aide des inventaires MacArthur du développement de la communication (Dionne, Tremblay, Boivin, Laplante, & Pérusse, 2003). Finalement, la théorie de l’esprit de l’enfant a été mesurée à 2 et 4 ans à l’aide de diverses tâches expérimentales (Carlson, Mandell, & Williams, 2004). Les résultats du premier article indiquent que l’OM maternelle est associée au développement du vocabulaire expressif des enfants de 2 ans. Les résultats des deuxième et troisième articles indiquent que la compréhension des enfants de 2 et 4 ans aux tâches de théorie de l’esprit est associée à l’OM maternelle. De plus, ces deux articles ont démontré que les garçons, mais pas les filles, présentant des comportements d’attachement davantage sécures ont obtenu de meilleures performances à une tâche demandant la compréhension des perspectives visuelles de leur mère à 2 ans et de celles d’une étrangère à 4 ans. En conclusion, les résultats de la thèse suggèrent que l’utilisation que les mères font de commentaires mentaux à 12 mois semble favoriser l’acquisition de mots dans le vocabulaire expressif de leur enfant à 2 ans ainsi que le développement d’une meilleure compréhension aux tâches de théorie de l’esprit à 2 et 4 ans. / Studies on mind-mindedness (MM), which is an indication of parents’ inclination to conceive and treat their child as an independent individual with an autonomous and active mental life (Meins, 1997), have grown in interest because of the associations found with children’s developmental areas, such as with 20-month-olds’ acquisition of linguistic style and with preschoolers’ theory of mind development (ToM) (e.g., Meins & Fernyhough, 1999). Despite these results, studies on expressive vocabulary and earlier ToM stages were neglected in this literature. This thesis is composed of three empirical articles and aims to fill the gaps in the current literature. The first paper aims to examine the longitudinal links between maternal MM and children’s expressive vocabulary at 2 years of age. The second and third articles aim to evaluate the prospective relations between maternal MM, children’s attachment security and 2-year-olds’ first articulations of ToM understanding, and 2 years later, with 4-year-olds’ ToM understanding. The data of the three articles was collected from five home visits made with 84 mother-infant dyads. At 12 months, maternal MM was measured during mother-child free plays with Meins et al. (2001) coding scheme. At 15 months, children’s attachment security was measured with the Attachment Q-Sort (Waters & Deane, 1985) by a research assistant. At 2 years of age, mothers were asked to complete the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (Dionne, Tremblay, Boivin, Laplante, & Pérusse, 2003) to measure their child’s expressive vocabulary. Finally, children’s ToM was assessed with different experimental tasks at 2 and 4 years of age (Carlson, Mandell, & Williams, 2004). Results of the first paper suggested that maternal MM is related to children’s expressive language at 2 years of age. Results of the second and third papers proposed that 2- and 4-year-olds’ understanding on ToM tasks is associated with maternal MM. Furthermore, results from these two articles showed that more securely attached boys, but not girls, performed better on a task requiring comprehension of their mothers’ visual perspective at 2 years of age and of a stranger’s visual perspective at 4 years of age. In conclusion, results of this thesis suggest that mothers more inclined to use mental comments at 12 months have children that acquire more words in their expressive vocabulary at 2 years of age and who show a better understanding on ToM tasks at 2 and 4 years of age.

Dans ce travail, nous nous proposons d'étudier la cognition sociale chez les sourds en distinguant les aspects perceptifs et cognitifs selon le modèle proposé par Tager-Flusberg et Sullivan (2000). La surdité nous permet d'aborder l'influence des facteurs environnementaux sur le développement des composantes socio-perceptive et socio-cognitive ; nous ciblons nos recherches sur les enfants sourds nés de parents entendants, éduqués dans des écoles ordinaires et portants des prothèses auditives. La première question à laquelle nous tenterons de répondre est la suivante : le manque de communication avec l'entourage familial pendant les premiers mois de vie, en lien avec le contexte particulier de la surdité dans un milieu entendant, a-t-il une influence sur le développement de la composante socio-perceptive ? Nous étudions cette question avec deux expériences impliquant la perception des visages et des émotions ; ces tests nous permettent de mettre en évidence les performances et les stratégies de traitement utilisées. Nous recherchons d'une part, l'utilisation du processus configural et l'effet de focalisation de l'attention sur la région des yeux au cours d'une tâche de jugement de similarité entre visages et d'autre part, l'effet de traitement automatique de la colère avec une tâche de recherche visuelle. La deuxième question soulevée est relative au développement de la composante socio-cognitive, et notamment aux capacités liées à la théorie de l'esprit. Les possibilités croissantes d'intégration du discours, notamment grâce aux prothèses auditives, permettraient-elles le développement des capacités nécessaires à la compréhension des états mentaux d'autrui ? / In this thesis, we aimed to study the socio-perceptive and the socio-cognitive components of social cognition (Tager-Flusberg et Sullivan, 2000) in deaf children. Deafness give us the possibility to assess environmental factors' influence on the development of these components. To do so, we focus our studies on deaf children born from hearing parents, equipped with auditory protheses, and educated in ordinary schools. First, one of the main issue of the current studies is to assess whether the lack of communication with family during the first months of life, in line with the particular context of deafness in a hearing environment, have a significant impact on the socio-perceptive component. Experiments 1 and 2 were designed to assess this issue. Participants had to respond with two experiences related to faces and emotion perceptions ; those tests allow us to show the performances and the strategies of the treatment used. On a side, we are looking for the inversion effect and the eyes area focus effect during a test of faces' similarities judgment, and another side the angry automatic effect with a visual search test. The second question studied is related to the development of the socio-cognitive component, and especially on capacities of theory of mind. Could the improvement of internalization of speech, using auditory protheses, permit the development of the capacities needed to understand the state of mind of another? Or in contrary, are the possibilities to exchange precociously about his own state of mind needed to develop socio-cognitive component?

I tested two pairs of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the informed forager paradigm: a subordinate saw the location of hidden bait, and then searched with a naïve dominant. This paradigm has tested what subjects know about others' states of knowledge, but my focus was to determine how subjects used different movement types and different gaze types to modify their competitive tactics. In particular, I investigated whether chimpanzees follow opponents' gaze to gain information. Learning more about how primates use visual information to predict others' behaviour can shed light on the continuing debate over to what degree apes possess theory of mind capacities. Previous published studies in this paradigm included narratives of ignorant competitors exploiting informed subjects by following their movement and gaze, and informed subjects avoided this exploitation by walking away from hidden food. The subordinate's behaviour can be considered tactical deception, which is a good place to seek strong evidence of second-order intentionality. Analyses with descriptive statistics, however, fail to capture the complexity of these interactions, which range from single decision-making points to larger patterns of following and misleading. I introduced a novel method of statistical analysis, cross correlations, that enabled me to examine behavioural patterns quantitatively that previous authors have only been able to describe in narrative form. Though previous studies on chimpanzees' understanding of gaze found that they were unable to use (human-given) gaze cues to locate hidden food, the subjects I tested followed their conspecific opponent's gaze, and used information gained from the gaze interaction to modify their own movement towards the hidden bait. Dominants adjusted their physical following of the subordinates as the interaction progressed, which reflected their changed states of knowledge. Subordinates used their movement and gaze differentially to manipulate dominants' behaviour, by withholding information and by recruiting towards a less-preferred bait.

[pt] Nesta tese, investiga-se a hipótese de que a aquisição de um traço sintático de Ponto de Vista (PoV) e sua codificação em CPs de orações completivas subcategorizadas por verbos de crença seja condição necessária para o desenvolvimento pleno de Teoria da Mente (TM), caracterizado pelo domínio da habilidade de raciocinar e prever ações de indivíduos que possuem uma Crença Falsa (CF), atingido por crianças aproximadamente aos quatro anos de idade (cf. DE VILLIERS E DE VILLIERS, 2009) (doravante, Hipótese PoV-CF). Especificamente, esta pesquisa visou a: averiguar em que medida a HPoV-CF pode ser sustentada; avaliar a possibilidade de se incorporar um traço PoV a um modelo online de computação sintática baseado nos pressupostos minimalistas (CORRÊA E AUGUSTO, 2007; 2011); e caracterizar o processo de aquisição do conhecimento relativo a esse traço à luz de uma teoria procedimental de aquisição da linguagem (CORRÊA, 2009). São apresentadas três possíveis análises de PoV codificado como traço formal ou semântico em completivas. Argumenta-se que, independentemente da caracterização desse traço, a aquisição do conhecimento que este representa dependeria inevitavelmente de um bootstrapping semântico, o que pressupõe a habilidade cognitiva de distinguir pontos de vista. No que concerne à investigação empírica, oito experimentos foram conduzidos. Os experimentos 1 a 6 visavam a investigar a habilidade de crianças de 3;3-3;5 anos em lidar com diferentes demandas requeridas à realização das tarefas tradicionais de CF e de Memória para Complementos (cujos resultados corroboram a HPoVCF), como a habilidade em lidar com interrogativas QU de objeto, a factividade de verbos mentais e factualidade. Foi também investigada a habilidade dessas crianças em lidar com tarefas linguísticas que incluem uma situação de CF. No Experimento 7, foi avaliada a habilidade das crianças em atribuir valores-verdade a completivas e a ambas as orações da sentença complexa. No experimento 8, o papel da recursividade linguística para o raciocínio sobre CFs de primeira e segunda ordem foi investigado, com crianças de 6;2 anos. De um modo geral, os resultados sugerem que i) as crianças não dominam demandas inerentes às tarefas tradicionais, indicando que seu insucesso nessas tarefas pode não refletir uma dificuldade em lidar com completivas ou com CFs; ii) as crianças atribuem corretamente valores-verdade a completivas, embora a atribuição de valor-verdade à oração principal (sentença completa) independentemente do valor da completiva seja mais custosa; iii) o raciocínio de CFs de primeira e segunda ordem pode ser conduzido por meio de estruturas não recursivas, embora estruturas recursivas pareçam facilitá-lo. Tendo-se em vista os resultados obtidos e à luz do possível processo de aquisição assumido, considera-se que a HPoV-CF não pode ser sustentada. Habilidades metacognitivas parecem ser requeridas para que a criança ignore o valor-verdade da completiva ao atribuir um valor-verdade à sentença completa. Argumenta-se que um possível papel para as completivas no desenvolvimento de TM seria o de prover uma representação que pode ser usada como recurso para facilitar (não sustentar) o raciocínio sobre CFs. / [en] This dissertation investigates the hypothesis that acquiring knowledge concerning the syntactic feature Point-of-View (PoV) in CPs of complement clauses (CCs) subcategorized by verbs of belief is a necessary condition for children to achieve a fully developed Theory of Mind (ToM) – the ability to ascribe false beliefs (FBs) to others and to predict their reasoning and action based on it (usually achieved by 4 years of age) (cf. DE VILLIERS AND DE VILLIERS, 2009) (henceforth, PoV-FBHypothesis). In particular, this study aimed to verify the extent to which PoV-FBH can be maintained; to evaluate the possibility of incorporating a PoV feature in an on-line model of syntactic computation grounded in minimalist assumptions (Corrêa & Augusto, 2007; 2011) and to characterize the developmental course of the acquisition of knowledge concerning this feature in the light of a procedural theory of language acquisition (Corrêa, 2009). The possibility of PoV being represented as a formal feature or as a semantic feature was considered in three analyses of CCs. It is argued that no matter how this feature is characterized, the acquisition of the knowledge it represents would inevitably rely on semantic bootstrapping, which presupposes the cognitive ability of distinguishing points of view. As for the empirical investigation, 8 experiments were conducted. Experiments 1-6 aimed at assessing 3;3-3;5 year olds ability to cope with a number of the demands of the traditional FB and Memory for Complements (MC) tasks, which supports PoVFBH, such as the ability to cope with object WH, the factivity of mental verbs and factuality. The production of CCs and childrens ability to cope with a linguistic task that includes a FB situation were also investigated. In experiment 7, childrens ability to assign truth-values to CCs and for both clauses of the complex sentence was evaluated. In Experiment 8 the role of language recursion for first- and second-order FB reasoning was investigated with 6;2 year-old children. In general, the results suggested that i) childrens failure on the traditional FB and MC tasks does not necessarily mean difficulty in dealing with CCs or FBs, insofar as they do not cope with most of the demands these tasks presuppose; ii) 3 year olds correctly assign truth-values to CCs, though assigning the truth-value for the main clause (the whole sentence) independently of the truth-value of the CC is particularly costly; iii) first- and second-order FB reasoning can be undertaken on the basis of non-recursive structures, although recursive structures seem to facilitate it. In sum, both in the light of the possible developmental courses of acquisition considered here and on the basis of the results obtained, it would be hard for the PoV-FBH to be maintained, as it stands. Metacognitive abilities may be required for children to be able to ignore the truthvalue of the CC when assigning a truth-value for the complex sentence. It is argued that the possible role of CCs in the development of ToM is to provide a representation that can be used to facilitate FB reasoning, not to support it.

La maladie de Huntington s’accompagne de troubles des conduites sociales perturbant les relations interindividuelles. L'objectif de ce travail de thèse était de mieux comprendre ces troubles sociaux en examinant les habiletés en cognition sociale de personnes porteuses de la mutation ou atteintes de cette maladie neurogénétique. La cognition sociale comprend notamment la reconnaissance des émotions d’autrui, les connaissances sociales et la théorie de l’esprit, soit la capacité à attribuer aux autres des états mentaux affectifs (sentiments) ou cognitifs (intentions,croyances). Nous avons étudié la cognition sociale à la phase présymptomatique et symptomatique de la maladie de Huntington à l’aide de tests neuropsychologiques et de la neuroimagerie morphologique et fonctionnelle. Ce travail a été réalisé dans le cadre d’une collaboration entre le centre national de référence pour les maladies neurogénétiques de l'adulte du CHU d’Angers et la plate-forme d’imagerie médicale Cyceron de Caen. Ce travail visait à mieux comprendre les perturbations en cognition sociale accompagnant la maladie de Huntington, leur évolution et leurs bases neurobiologiques afin d’améliorer notre compréhension des troubles du comportement accompagnant cette maladie. Nous espérons ainsi pouvoir mieux contribuer au diagnostic, au pronostic et à la prise en charge des personnes concernées par cette maladie. / Huntington's disease is accompanied by disturbances insocial behavior that disrupt inter-individual relationships.The aim of this thesis was to better understand these social disorders by examining the social cognition skills of people with the mutation or the neurogenic disease. Social cognition includes the recognition of the emotions of others, social knowledge and the theory of the mind, namely the ability to attribute to others emotional (feelings) or cognitive (intentions, beliefs) mental states. We studied social cognition in the presymptomatic and symptomatic phase of Huntington's disease using neuropsychological tests and morphological and functional neuroimaging. This work was carried out within the framework of a collaboration between the national center of reference for the neurogenic diseases of adults of the CHU of Angers and the platform of medical imaging Cyceron of Caen. This work aimed to better understand the social cognition disruptions accompanying Huntington's disease, their evolution and their neurobiological basis in order to improve our understanding of behavioral disorders accompanying this disease. We hope to be able to better contribute to the diagnosis, prognosis and care of those affected by this disease.

Em uma época em que o excesso de informações, técnicas e padrões parecem sufocar o indivíduo; e ao mesmo tempo, incitá-lo a questionar a si próprio e ao próximo diante de situações a serem resolvidas; torna-se imprescindível pensar nas possibilidades de compreensão e simplificação de sua rotina, isso sem causar a perda da essência do que é de fato ser humano. Surgem daí questões fundamentais para investigar a sobrevivência e o convívio harmônico da espécie, ou seja, buscar princípios correspondentes ao anseio de viver juntos e em paz. Posto dessa maneira, a pesquisa em questão tem como objetivo dialogar sobre esses assuntos por meio da educação de novas metodologias frente à aprendizagem de diversos saberes nos quais envolvam o mundo, seus objetos e, por fim, suas relações. Desse modo, a fim de entender melhor as necessidades humanas no processo de aprendizagem, realizei um estudo sobre a teoria da mente, que foi seguido de uma pesquisa de campo cuja base foi observar as novas pedagogias postas em ação, especificamente, em duas escolas: a EMEF Desembargador Amorim Lima e Escola Waldorf. Ao cumprir essa demanda, entrevistei alguns professores para analisar quais motivos que levaram à adoção dessa nova diretriz em suas práticas de ensino. Opção tomada na busca de subsidiar a formação de seus alunos, no sentido de torná-los adultos capazes de criticar e refletir sobre a sua própria realidade, permitindo, assim, a criação de mecanismos de interação com o mundo ao seu redor. / In an age where the sheer breadth of information, techniques and patterns appear to stifle the individual, but at the same time, encourage him/her to question oneself and others in situations that need a resolution, it is important to try and understand and simplify ones approach so as not to lose the essence of what it is to maintain ones \"humanity\". This leads to fundamental questions regarding the survival and harmonious coexistence of the species, i.e., in the effort to find ways and principles that lead to living together in peace. As such, this research intends to address these issues through the promotion (and via education) of newer methodologies and current knowledge (as opposed to outdated knowledge and materials) of the world, its objects and, their complex relationships using the modern marvels of technology, art and other mechanisms heretofor not considered. In the effort to better understand human needs in the learning process, I conducted a study on the theory of the mind, followed by a field study/examination, the purpose of which was to observe how new teaching methods put into action, specifically in two schools: EMEF Desembargador Amorim Lima and Waldorf Schools. Accordingly, I interviewed several teachers to learn their motivations for the adoption of this new direction in their teaching practices, after they graduated from the traditional educational system. I found that their approach took into consideration subsidizing the education of their students in order to give them the opportunity to grow into thinking adults who are able to criticize and reflect on their own reality, thus allowing the creation of mechanisms of interaction with the world around them.

A linguagem tem um papel fundamental para o desenvolvimento infantil, uma vez que possibilita à criança construir conceitos do self e do outro, especialmente nos contextos construídos por seus cuidadores e nas trocas interacionais. A proposta da presente pesquisa é analisar associações entre o tipo de discurso materno, quanto a características de orientação cultural para a interdependência e/ou para a autonomia, e o desenvolvimento cognitivo da criança avaliado pelo desempenho em testes de compreensão de intencionalidade e direção do olhar, no contexto de depressão pós-parto. O projeto insere-se em um estudo longitudinal mais amplo (Temático FAPESP nº 06/59192), que acompanha díades mãe-criança de uma amostra atendida pelo sistema público de saúde, em que era aferido haver ou não depressão por meio da Escala de Edimburgo (pós-parto e 36 meses). Foram feitos registros em vídeo da interação livre mãe-criança por 10 minutos, para avaliação do discurso materno, e da criança nos testes em interação com um pesquisador. O estilo de discurso materno foi classificado segundo categorias elaboradas por Heidi Keller, associadas à ideia de autonomia (ex. agência, autorreferência) ou de relacionamento (ex. coagência, referência a autoridade). O escore correspondente à autonomia e ao relacionamento foi calculado pela soma das frequências das respectivas categorias, controlado pelo número de emissões da fala categorizadas. A compreensão de intencionalidade foi avaliada por meio de duas histórias ilustrativas que mostram um personagem no processo de busca de um objeto (A) em um local previsto e, em seguida, a descoberta inesperada de um objeto diferente, mais desejável (B) em seu lugar. O protocolo avalia cada etapa de aplicação do teste. O teste de direção do olhar foi composto por três tarefas nas quais a criança deveria identificar: qual das figuras está olhando para ela?; o personagem está olhando para onde?, e apontando para onde?, associadas a perguntas sobre o que o personagem quer? Foi verificado um efeito da DPP na adesão à tarefa no teste Compreensão de Intencionalidade (CI). A dificuldade do teste de Direção do Olhar (DO) prevaleceu com o cansaço. Todavia, foi identificada correlação negativa entre o escore da DPP e o desempenho em etapas do teste. A DPP parece ter produzido mais efeito do que a depressão aos 36 meses. Os casos que indicam cronicidade da depressão são mais prejudicados. Um elemento destaque foi a análise do discurso, que revelou muito sobre o contexto de depressão e do desempenho das crianças. O discurso autônomo esteve negativamente relacionado ao escore DPP e aos 36 meses, e positivamente ao desempenho. Destaca-se que no contexto de depressão, as crianças que tiveram bom desempenho foram as das mães que apresentaram maior percentual nas categorias de autonomia, quando comparado com o grupo baixo desempenho e DPP. De modo geral, não encontramos efeitos lineares e diretos da DPP prejudicando o desenvolvimento, mas verificamos variações sugestivas. Tudo indica que o comportamento materno e, principalmente, o resultado deste em termos de desenvolvimento, irá depender muito da configuração geral do contexto socioafetivo, e que a depressão é um dos elementos efetivos desta conjugação / Language has a vital role in children´s construction of self and the relation to others in interactional exchanges. Mothers´ talk to their children reflects their cultural models or ethno-theories. In this presentation the results of a study focusing on the relation between maternal speech, as presenting the characteristics of a cultural orientation to interdependence and / or autonomy, with children\'s cognitive development, assessed by performance on tests of understanding of intentionality and direction of gaze, in the context of postpartum depression. The project is part of a larger, longitudinal study (FAPESP No. 06/59192), which follows a sample of mother-child dyads served by a public health system, when it was measured whether or not depression through Edinburgh Scale (postpartum and 36 months). Video recordings of free mother-child interactions for 10 minutes were made to evaluate the conversational maternal style. Children were observed in their interactional tasks with an experimenter. Mother´s speech style was classified according to categories developed by Heidi Keller, associated with the concept of agency (i.e. mental states, self-reference) or relationship (i.e. co-agency, reference to authority). Scores on both categories were calculated as the sum of the frequencies of the respective categories, controlling the total number of emissions categorized. Intentionality understanding was evaluated by means of two illustrative stories that show a character in the process of searching for an object (A) in a place provided, and then, the unexpected discovery of a different object, the more desirable (B) in its place. The protocol evaluates each step of the test. The test of gaze direction was composed of three tasks that the child should identify: what the figures are looking at; To what is the character is looking; where is he/she pointing, associated to questions about \"what the character wants?\" The effect of PPD was found in adherence to the task in testing Intentionality Understanding (IC). The difficulty of the Gaze Direction (GD) test has prevailed with tiredness, but a negative correlation was identified with scores of PPD and performance in steps of the test. The DPP produced more effect than depression at 36 months, and indicates to the importance of early development. The cases of chronic depressions suggest to be more affected. One key element was the of speech analysis, this revealed much about the context of depression and performance of children. The style of autonomy speech was negatively related to score PPD and the 36 months, and positively to the children\'s performance. It is noteworthy that in the context of depressed children who had good performance their mothers presented greater percentage in autonomy compared to the group of low performance and PPD. Overall, we found no direct linear effects of the DPP that could hinder the development, but we found suggestive variations. Everything indicates that maternal behavior, and especially the result from this in terms of development will greatly depend on the socio-affective context configuration and depression is one of the effective elements of this combination