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Action Anticipation Through Attribution of False Belief by 2-Year-Olds

Psychological Science · 2007 · Vol. 18(7) · pp. 587–592

Victoria Southgate✉(Birkbeck, University of London)Atsushi Senju(Birkbeck, University of London)Gergely Csibra(Birkbeck, University of London)

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Abstract

Two-year-olds engage in many behaviors that ostensibly require the attribution of mental states to other individuals. Yet the overwhelming consensus has been that children of this age are unable to attribute false beliefs. In the current study, we used an eyetracker to record infants' looking behavior while they watched actions on a computer monitor. Our data demonstrate that 25-month-old infants correctly anticipate an actor's actions when these actions can be predicted only by attributing a false belief to the actor.

Child and Animal Learning Development Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior Face Recognition and PerceptionAttributionPsychologyAnticipation (artificial intelligence)Action (physics)False beliefTheory of mindDevelopmental psychologyCognitive psychologySocial psychologyAttribution bias

MeSH terms

AttentionChild BehaviorPsychology, ChildChild, PreschoolCognitionConcept FormationHumansMotor ActivityPhotic StimulationPursuit, SmoothReality TestingSocial PerceptionVisual Perception