TY - JOUR
T1 - Secret keepers
T2 - children's theory of mind and their conception of secrecy
AU - Colwell, Malinda J.
AU - Corson, Kimberly
AU - Sastry, Anuradha
AU - Wright, Holly
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Taylor & Francis.
Copyright:
Copyright 2016 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/3/3
Y1 - 2016/3/3
N2 - In this mixed methods study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 3–5-year-olds (n = 21) in a university-sponsored preschool programme and children completed a theory of mind (ToM) task. After grouping children into pass/no pass groups for the ToM tasks, analyses using interpretive phenomenology indicated that preschool children explain their understanding of secrets and secret hiding places differently, depending on their ToM ability. Children in the ‘pass' group had more detailed narratives, showed more imagination, and required less prompting in their discussions of secret hiding places, regardless of age. Those in the ‘no pass' group had more concrete examples of secret hiding places and relied more heavily on their drawings to explain those places. Implications for children's social competence are discussed.
AB - In this mixed methods study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 3–5-year-olds (n = 21) in a university-sponsored preschool programme and children completed a theory of mind (ToM) task. After grouping children into pass/no pass groups for the ToM tasks, analyses using interpretive phenomenology indicated that preschool children explain their understanding of secrets and secret hiding places differently, depending on their ToM ability. Children in the ‘pass' group had more detailed narratives, showed more imagination, and required less prompting in their discussions of secret hiding places, regardless of age. Those in the ‘no pass' group had more concrete examples of secret hiding places and relied more heavily on their drawings to explain those places. Implications for children's social competence are discussed.
KW - interpretive phenomenology
KW - preschool children
KW - secret hiding places
KW - secrets
KW - theory of mind
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84959921767&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/03004430.2015.1031657
DO - 10.1080/03004430.2015.1031657
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84959921767
VL - 186
SP - 369
EP - 381
JO - Early Child Development and Care
JF - Early Child Development and Care
SN - 0300-4430
IS - 3
ER -