Longitudinal development of theory of mind in adolescence and its associations with fiction reading experience

Abstract

The high occurrence of social content in children's fiction may provide opportunities for practicing and refining emerging understanding of others' thoughts, feelings, and desires, referred to as "theory of mind" (ToM). The aim of the present study was to test this potential developmental benefit by longitudinally examining ToM development in middle childhood and adolescence, as well as examining associations between children's reading experience and ToM. Reading experience and ToM were assessed in 234 children at five time points between ages 12.5 and 16 (56% girls). Of this sample, 16% of children were eligible for free school meals, and 9% spoke English as additional language. To examine longitudinal associations between ToM and reading experience, we tested development and stability over time and tested cross-lagged associations between these constructs. Results showed that there was meaningful improvement in ToM in this age range, but no significant variance in growth trajectories. Our data also showed rank-order stability in individual differences in ToM, suggesting that variation in theory-of-mind performance is genuine. There were bidirectional associations between ToM and reading experience, but these effects disappeared after controlling for verbal ability, gender, and parent education. Future research should include more direct tests of potential underlying mechanisms of the benefits of narrative exposure for our understanding of others.