Do executive function and theory of mind underpin child positivity and autonomy during parent-child interactions?

Among the multiple determinants of children’s social development are two socio-cognitive factors, theory of mind (ToM) and executive functions (EF). ToM is defined as the ability to infer others’ beliefs, desires, and intentions (Flavell and Miller, 1994; Wellman & Liu, 2014) and EF refers to the processes that underpin goal-directed behaviour and adaptive responses to novel or ambiguous situations (Diamond, 2013; Zelazo, 2015). These show independent predictive associations with measures of social competence in both typically developing children (e.g., Devine & Hughes, 2014; Hughes et al., 2000; Hughes & Ensor, 2006) and neurodiverse groups (e.g., Charman et al., 2001; Joseph & Tager-Flusberg, 2004). Although links between ToM and EF are well-established (Devine & Hughes, 2014), existing work on the independence and interplay between ToM and EF in relation to children’s social outcomes has been almost exclusively restricted to peer relations. This focus is understandable, given the substantial amounts of time children spend with peers at school (Rubin et al., 2006). Moreover, for practical reasons of time and availability, observational studies of child-caregiver interactions rarely extend beyond the preschool years. Drawing on recent work, this study examines individual differences in children’s EF and ToM in relation to two aspects of their social behaviours when engaging with their parents in an online version of the Etch-A-Sketch task (Oliver and Pike, 2019): positivity and autonomy.