1. The Influence of Language on Theory of Mind Syntax and Cognitive Development Greg Cox Anton Lukyanenko 26 April 2007

2. Previous Research  Experiments show a correlation between language and ToM. Correlation of skills Age of acquisition  Question: Are these causally related?

3. Definitions  Theory of Mind False belief Appearance-reality Unexpected contents  Sentential Complements “John thinks that [Mary is wet].” Embedded clause is an obligatory argument Truth value Verbs of communication and mental state

4. Hale & Tager-Flusberg Paradigm  Training Conditions Sentential Complements (SC) Relative Clauses (RC) False Belief (FB)  Participants Pretest Age (Mean=4 years)

5. Hale & Tager-Flusberg Results

6. Hale & Tager-Flusberg Discussion  Sentential complements specifically influence ToM performance  Problems: Do mental verbs influence performance? Training involved only deceptive experience

7. Lohmann & Tomasello Paradigm Training Condition Elements in Training Deceptive Experience SyntaxVerbs Full TrainingYesSCMental, Communication Discourse Only YesSimple clauses (no SC) None No LanguageYesNone Sentential Complements NoSCMental, communcation Variations within Training Groups

8. Lohmann & Tomasello Results

9. Lohmann & Tomasello Discussion  Conclusions Sentential complement influence independent of deceptive experience Deceptive experience alone ineffective Language in general doesn’t show effect  Criticism SC training still involved deceptive objects Tests for ToM involve SC phrasing

10. Final Thoughts  Relationship between language and ToM?  Not Just Experience  Not Just Language  Two Separate Mechanisms?  ToM, Perspective, and Humanity Social Behavior Language Morality?