Abstract
In his developmental stage model, Baron-Cohen (1995) suggested that the formation of "SAM" precedes the development of "ToMM". Given the observation among normal children of a 3-year age disparity between the formation of SAM and ToMM, the present study addressed the question of whether there are intermediate stages between the development of SAM and ToMM. We examined the nature of two stages by putting them together in terms of triadic relations, while looking into their structural differences with respect to spatial, temporal, and personal relations. This analysis led to the hypothesis that there are two intermediate stages between the formation of SAM and the early development of ToMM. This paper presents a four-stage model, with of ToMM as the final stage, to explain the nature of developmental phenomena typically observed in children with normal and autistic children.
