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Secora K. The role of speech-language pathologists in supporting theory of mind through literacy-based activities. JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 2024; 111:106449. [PMID: 38945089 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Revised: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE This tutorial discusses the importance of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) supporting individuals with language disorders in their understanding of others' cognitive and affective states (theory of mind, ToM), with a special consideration given to applying these suggestions with individuals who are neurodivergent. METHOD I motivate this tutorial by first reviewing the literature related to ToM and language abilities for various populations of individuals with language difficulties, highlighting the need for explicitly targeting the language-related skills that are thought to underlie ToM for individuals with language disorders. I next present concrete examples of how to support ToM through literacy-based activities. I follow this discussion with a short description of how these activities may be applied with individuals who are neurodivergent through concrete examples, such as how inclusion of neurodivergent characters in storybooks can aid in educating children about understanding others' perspectives. It further emphasizes the importance of discussing various types of mental and emotional states for individuals who share as well as differ in their neurotypes. CONCLUSIONS Language skills are an integral part of ToM abilities. SLPs play an important role in supporting clients' academic, literacy, and social outcomes and can support important perspective-taking skills through associated language/communication skills. The various skills that fall under the umbrella term 'theory of mind' can be appropriately incorporated into intervention and literacy-based tasks in a way that respects differences in neurotype while still building important language and communication skills for clients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen Secora
- Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States.
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Farrell C, Sanderson E, Mulvihill A, Thai M, Slaughter V. Parents' mental state language and child gender: A scoping review of developmental evidence. BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38842365 DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
Mental state language (MSL) is an important mechanism through which children learn about their social world and place within it. Previous research has suggested that parents may use MSL differently towards children based on their child's gender. However, findings are inconsistent. This scoping review explores the consistency of reported differences in parents' MSL use as a function of children's gender while exploring the methodological variables that may provide insights into these differences. Based on a review of the 27 studies included, 12 found a significant relationship between child gender and parents' MSL, while the remaining did not. The included studies used a range of methodological approaches to elicit MSL. This scoping review allows researchers and practitioners to reflect upon assumptions regarding the associations between child gender and parents' MSL. Further, we call for the use of diverse and informed approaches when studying these associations from a developmental perspective in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Callyn Farrell
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Ellen Sanderson
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Aisling Mulvihill
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Michael Thai
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Virginia Slaughter
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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Lenhart J, Richter T. Media exposure and preschoolers' social-cognitive development. BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024; 42:234-256. [PMID: 38406975 DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Revised: 02/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Exposure to narratives may have beneficial effects on children's social-cognitive development because narratives provide information about the social world and often require social understanding for story comprehension. In the current study, we examined the influence of narratives presented via different media (books, audiobooks, TV/films) on theory-of-mind performance and mental verb comprehension in a sample of 114 three- to six-year-old preschool children. Parents' reports on the number of (children's) books at home, the overall duration of TV/film and audio media exposure, the frequency of shared book reading, watching children's TV/films and audiobook listening, and parent-child discussions about media content were collected. Children's theory-of-mind performance and mental verb comprehension were measured as dependent variables. When gender, age, language skills and parental education were controlled, only the number of children's books, shared book reading frequency, audio-media exposure and audiobook usage significantly predicted children's theory-of-mind scores. None of the media exposure or the parent-child discussion variables had significant incremental effects above the family and child characteristics on mental verb comprehension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Lenhart
- Department of Psychology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
| | - Tobias Richter
- Department of Psychology IV, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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Wang Z, Shao Y. Picture book reading improves children's learning understanding. BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38415288 DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Mental state reasoning is an integral part of children's teaching and learning understanding. This study investigated whether a picture book reading approach focusing on mental state discourse and contrasting perspectives in a preschool classroom setting would improve children's teaching and learning understanding and school readiness. In total, 104 children from four classrooms aged between 46 and 64 months (53 girls, M = 54.03 months, SD = 3.68) participated in the study. Half of the classrooms were randomly assigned to an experimental group where teachers read picture books rich in mental state discourse and engaged in intensive discussions with children for eight weeks. Children's false belief understanding and teaching and learning understanding were measured before and after the eight-week period. The result revealed that picture book reading improved children's learning understanding with a medium effect size, controlling for demographic variables, children's verbal ability, inhibition, and initial false belief understanding. The experimental group children further demonstrated more advanced school readiness 18 months after the intervention ended in a follow-up study using a teacher questionnaire.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenlin Wang
- The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - Yihan Shao
- Shanghai SIPO Polytechnic, Shanghai, China
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Grøver V, Snow CE, Evans L, Strømme H. Overlooked advantages of interactive book reading in early childhood? A systematic review and research agenda. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2023; 239:103997. [PMID: 37562321 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/30/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous reviews of the nature and consequences of adult-child book reading have focused on seeking impacts of interactive reading on the acquisition of vocabulary and emergent literacy skills. In this systematic review we examined to what extent there has been systematic study of the effects of interactive reading on four less frequently studied developmental outcomes important to children's academic and life prospects: socio-emotional and socio-cognitive (SEL) skills, narrative skills, grammar, and world knowledge. We identified 67 studies of interactive reading that met the inclusion criteria and that examined the targeted outcomes, using either experimental, quasi-experimental, correlational, or single-group intervention methods. We found that studies of effects on grammar and world knowledge outcomes were very sparsely represented; though narrative was often studied as an outcome, the wide variation in conceptualizing and assessing the construct hampered any clear conclusion about book-reading effects. The most robust research strand focused on SEL skill outcomes, though here too the outcome assessments varied widely. We speculate that better instrumented approaches to assessing vocabulary and emergent literacy have led to the persistent emphasis on these domains, despite robust evidence of only modest associations, and argue that work to develop sound shared measures of narrative and SEL skills would enable cross-study comparison and the accumulation of findings. In addition, we note that the various studies implicated different explanatory principles for the value of reading with children: specific interactional features (open-ended questions, following the child's lead, expanding child utterances) or content features (emotion-enhanced books, talk about mental states, science topics), raising another topic for more focused study in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Catherine E Snow
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, United States of America; University of Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Leigh Evans
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, United States of America
| | - Hilde Strømme
- University of Oslo Library of Medicine and Science, Norway
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Pluta A, Krysztofiak M, Zgoda M, Wysocka J, Golec K, Gajos K, Dołyk T, Wolak T, Haman M. Theory of Mind and Parental Mental-State Talk in Children with CIs. JOURNAL OF DEAF STUDIES AND DEAF EDUCATION 2023:enad004. [PMID: 36951492 PMCID: PMC10376925 DOI: 10.1093/deafed/enad004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have suggested that parents may support the development of theory of mind (ToM) in their child by talking about mental states (mental state talk; MST). However, MST has not been sufficiently explored in deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs). This study investigated ToM and availability of parental MST in deaf children with CIs (n = 39, Mage = 62.92, SD = 15.23) in comparison with their peers with typical hearing (TH; n = 52, Mage = 52.48, SD = 1.07). MST was measured during shared storybook reading. Parents' narratives were coded for cognitive, emotional, literal, and non-mental references. ToM was measured with a parental questionnaire. Children with CIs had lower ToM scores than their peers with TH, and their parents used more literal references during shared storybook reading. There were no significant differences in the frequencies of cognitive and emotional references between groups. Parental emotional references contributed positively to children's ToM scores when controlling for the child's age and receptive grammar only in the CI group. These results indicated some distinctive features in parents of deaf children with CIs' MST and highlighted the role of MST in the development of ToM abilities in this group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Pluta
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
- Bioimaging Research Center, World Hearing Center, Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Małgorzata Zgoda
- World Hearing Center, Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Joanna Wysocka
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Karolina Golec
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Tadeusz Dołyk
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Tomasz Wolak
- Bioimaging Research Center, World Hearing Center, Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Maciej Haman
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
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Linking early maternal input during shared reading to later theory of mind through receptive language and executive function: A within- and between-family design. J Exp Child Psychol 2022; 223:105469. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Sudo M, Cheung ZKP, Okada Y, Daniels J. How I wonder what you are: Children's songs as a source of mental and internal state information. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/sode.12632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mioko Sudo
- Department of Psychology University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA
- School of Social Sciences Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Singapore
| | - Zoe Ka Pui Cheung
- Department of Psychology University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA
| | - Yasuko Okada
- Research Institute for Language Education Seisen University Shinagawa‐ku Tokyo Japan
| | - Jaxenne Daniels
- Department of Psychology University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA
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Parental mental state talk in two contexts: Parents’ cognitive sentential complements are positively associated with children’s theory of mind. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2022.101192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Moll H, Ni Q, Stekeler-Weithofer P. Ontogenetic steps of understanding beliefs: From practical to theoretical. PHILOSOPHICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2022.2073211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Henrike Moll
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Qianhui Ni
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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Exploring the impact of parental education, ethnicity and context on parent and child mental-state language. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2022.101169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Relations between the home literacy environment and young children’s theory of mind. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2022.101179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Development of Internal State Language Among Hindi-Speaking Primary Grade Children. PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDIES 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12646-021-00624-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
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Tompkins V, Montgomery DE, Blosser MK. Mother‐child talk about mental states: The what, who, and how of conversations about the mind. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/sode.12551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Virginia Tompkins
- Department of Psychology The Ohio State University at Lima Lima Ohio USA
| | | | - Michael K. Blosser
- Department of Psychology The Ohio State University at Lima Lima Ohio USA
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Theory of mind, mental state talk, and discourse comprehension: Theory of mind process is more important for narrative comprehension than for informational text comprehension. J Exp Child Psychol 2021; 209:105181. [PMID: 34049060 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Revised: 04/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the relations among theory of mind (ToM), mental state talk, and discourse comprehension. Specifically, we examined the frequency of mental state talk in children's oral recall of narrative texts and informational texts as well as relations among ToM, mental state talk (inclusion of mental state words in the recall of narrative and informational texts), and narrative and informational text comprehension. Results from children in Grade 4 (N = 132; Mage = 10.39 years) revealed that a greater number of mental state talk instances appeared in children's recall of narrative texts than in their recall of informational texts, but the mean number also differed across texts within a genre. ToM skill predicted the extent of mental state talk in narrative texts and informational texts, and the relation was stronger for narrative texts than for informational texts, after accounting for vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, working memory, and attentional control. Mental state talk in narrative texts was extremely strongly related to narrative comprehension, whereas mental state talk in informational texts was weakly related to informational text comprehension. Results suggest that ToM skill relates to mental state talk in the recall of texts, and both ToM and mental state talk play greater roles in comprehension of narrative texts than in comprehension of informational texts.
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Does executive function influence the development of theory of mind in elementary students? CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-018-0107-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Exploring Gender Differences in the Use of Internal State Language in Mother-Adolescent Reminiscing. SEX ROLES 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s11199-019-01053-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Tompkins V, Farrar MJ, Montgomery DE. Speaking Your Mind: Language and Narrative in Young Children's Theory of Mind Development. ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2019; 56:109-140. [PMID: 30846045 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2018.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Research consistently finds that language and theory of mind are interrelated. The content and qualities of language that specifically predict theory of mind remain under investigation and the question of why language might impact theory of mind development is open. In this chapter we analyze and highlight current findings and theory addressing theory of mind and language. The principal focus is upon typically developing children between ages 2 and 5, a period characterized by extensive development in language and social understanding. We propose that the study of young children's narrative development can inform how and why language and theory of mind are connected. False belief understanding and narrative comprehension share many similarities and this association provides a promising avenue for future work.
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Tompkins V, Benigno JP, Kiger Lee B, Wright BM. The relation between parents' mental state talk and children's social understanding: A meta-analysis. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/sode.12280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Ebert S, Peterson C, Slaughter V, Weinert S. Links among parents’ mental state language, family socioeconomic status, and preschoolers’ theory of mind development. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2017.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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Jeffrey Farrar M, Seung HK, Lee H. Language and False-Belief Task Performance in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2017; 60:1999-2013. [PMID: 28666276 DOI: 10.1044/2017_jslhr-l-15-0422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2015] [Accepted: 01/11/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Language is related to false-belief (FB) understanding in both typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study examined the role of complementation and general language in FB understanding. Of interest was whether language plays similar or different roles in the groups' FB performance. METHOD Participants were 16 typically developing children (mean age = 5.0 years; mental age = 6.7) and 18 with ASD (mean age = 7.3 years; mental age = 8.3). Children were administered FB and language tasks (say- and think-complements), receptive and expressive vocabulary tests, and relative clauses. RESULTS When mental age and receptive and expressive vocabulary were used as separate covariates, the typical control group outperformed the children with ASD in FB task performance. Chi-square analyses indicated that passing both complementation tasks was linked to the FB understanding of children with ASD. Children with ASD who passed FB tasks all passed say- and think-complement tasks. However, some children in the control group were able to pass the FB tasks, even if they failed the say- and think-complement tasks. CONCLUSION The results indicate that children with ASD relied more on complement understanding to pass FB than typically developing children. Results are discussed regarding the developmental pathways for FB understanding.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hye Kyeung Seung
- Department of Human Communication Studies, California State University, Fullerton
| | - Hyeonjin Lee
- Department of Early Childhood Education, Yeungnam University, North Gyeongsang, Korea
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Are there different pathways to explicit false belief understanding? General language and complementation in typical and atypical children. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2017.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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