PSYCHOLOGY MASTER'S THESIS ABSTRACT

Rebecca J. Olsen
MA-Research
December 2000

Parent-Child Interaction in Establishing Common Ground Before and After Theory-of-Mind Development

    Past research has shown that communicative success is dependent on establishing common ground.  However, common ground may not be possibly for a child who has not developed a theory of mind.  This connection between theory of mind and common ground has not been established.  Therefore, it was hypothesized that children who were post-theory of mind would be more likely to establish common ground.  They would be more accurate, spend more time, and speak longer when verbal interaction was allowed and would also be more accurate when verbal interaction was not allowed.

    Twenty kindergarten-age children completed a theory of mind false belief task.  Each child and his/her parent then completed an interactive task.  The results were insignificant; however, post hoc analysis indicated that theory of mind plays a role in establishing common ground.  Possible confounds, important implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Psychology Department * CSULB * 1250 Bellflower Blvd. * Long Beach, CA  90840-0901 * 562-985-5001