Willing and able? Theory of mind, social motivation and social competence in middle childhood and early adolescence

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Abstract

This study investigated the links between theory of mind, social motivation and children’s social competence in middle childhood and early adolescence. Two hundred and sixty four children (136 girls, 128 boys) aged between 8 and 13 years (M Age = 10.88 years, SD = 1.45) completed theory-of-mind tests and self-report questionnaires measuring social motivation. Teachers rated children’s social competence at school. Teacher-rated social competence was associated with individual differences in both theory of mind and children’s motivation to develop and maintain social relationships. Results suggest that while individual differences in social motivation and theory of mind are partially overlapping, both theory-of-mind ability and social motivation contribute to successful social interaction at school.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere13137
Number of pages14
JournalDevelopmental Science
Volume25
Issue number1
Early online date7 Jul 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Jul 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This project was funded through a grant from the Wellcome Trust to Rory T. Devine (Grant Number: 215006/Z/18/Z). Thanks to Maria Alfaro Munoz for her assistance with recruitment and data collection and to Imogen Grumley Traynor and Irene Luque Aguilera for assistance with coding.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Developmental Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Keywords

  • Individual differences
  • Middle childhood
  • Social competence
  • Social motivation
  • adolescence
  • theory of mind (ToM)

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

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