The ability to understand mental states (feelings, desires, beliefs, and intentions) is a characteristic of human beings. In the last few years, several studies have been carried out to understand the development of children’s ability to interpret others’ behavior or of what has been named children's theory of mind. In this paper we discuss the relationship among theoretical approaches to theory of mind, empirical findings and methodology. Two issues are discussed: the age children’s theory of mind emerges and the need to develop an approach which will allow for the inclusion of different levels of children’s understanding of mind in the light of current theories.
Theory of mind; development; cognition