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ERIC Number: EJ879033
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Sep
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0261-510X
EISSN: N/A
Associations among False Belief Understanding, Counterfactual Reasoning, and Executive Function
Guajardo, Nicole R.; Parker, Jessica; Turley-Ames, Kandi
British Journal of Developmental Psychology, v27 n3 p681-702 Sep 2009
The primary purposes of the present study were to clarify previous work on the association between counterfactual thinking and false belief performance to determine (1) whether these two variables are related and (2) if so, whether executive function skills mediate the relationship. A total of 92 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds completed false belief, counterfactual, working memory, representational flexibility, and language measures. Counterfactual reasoning accounted for limited unique variance in false belief. Both working memory and representational flexibility partially mediated the relationship between counterfactual and false belief. Children, like adults, also generated various types of counterfactual statements to differing degrees. Results demonstrated the importance of language and executive function for both counterfactual and false belief. Implications are discussed.
British Psychological Society. St Andrews House, 48 Princess Road East, Leicester, LE1 7DR, UK. Tel: +44-116-254-9568; Fax: +44-116-227-1314; e-mail: enquiry@bps.org.uk; Web site: http://www.bpsjournals.co.uk
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A