Abstract
The present study analysed individual differences in and interactional correlates with 3-year-olds' understandings of others' desires, feelings and beliefs. 51 children and their mothers were observed at home in pretend play and reading together. We examined their talks about internal states, and then tested children on tasks about desire, affect-labeling, perspective-taking, and false-beliefs. Individual differences in each aspect of social cognition were recorded : children performed well on understanding of feelings understanding, but few could understand others' beliefs. Understanding of desires was associated with maternal references to mental states in reading, and with responsive talks about internal states during pretend play. Children's understanding of beliefs was associated with maternal responsive talk about internal states during pretend play, repeating statements about internal states during reading, and references to mental states in both settings. The results support the view that discourses about the social world, especially when suited to the contexts of the mother-child interaction, mediate key development in the social cognition of 3-year-olds.
