Longitudinal Effects of Preschool Theory of Mind on Cognitive and Social Competencies in Elementary School

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The project is the conclusion of a longitudinal study of social-cognitive development from infancy to elementary school age. The aim of the present, final project phase is the prediction of cognitive and social competencies in elementary school from individual differences in Theory of Mind and metacognition in preschool age. Academic and social developmental outcomes will be assessed by tests and rating scales in N=130 8-year-old children, of whom n=76 participated in the study since their early childhood and n=54 since they were 4 years old. A battery of tasks assessing Theory of Mind, metacognition and moral understanding, as well as control measures, will be used to predict school related developmental outcomes, and, at the same time, to provide outcome measures for the longitudinal investigation of the central competence domains. The study of individual development will be complemented by the exploration of the effects of social interaction on the development of the target competencies. The longitudinal design and the rich database which has been collected in the previous phases of the project will allow for a genuinely developmental perspective: Since a close, theoretically guided correspondence was chosen between the measures used at different ages in order to address the issue of conceptual continuity in the mental domain, it will be possible to eventually not only investigate precursor- and outcome relations, but also to discover mediating and moderating effects. The study will contribute equally to a better understanding of conceptual development, as well as to the prediction of success in school from measures of (social) cognitive development in preschool age and in infancy.