THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION IN CHILDREN'S ABILITY TO REASON ABOUT THE MIND

In this article I make the assumption that we are especially well adapted for reasoning about the mind. The cognitive processes underpinning this ability seem to function very early in development and play an important part in the growth of related forms of intellectual faculties. In particular, it seems that an early understanding of mind is essential for language development. There is a bi-directional influence, though, because being able to communicate with language then allows the child to gain much deeper psychological insights : Verbal communication allows a window on the minds of other people. However, we have recently obtained evidence to suggest that until about the age of 6 years, children's bias to interpret speech literally is an impediment to their apprehension of utterances as a product of minds. When children overcome this problem beyond 6 years of age, they have potential to gain even deeper psychological insights from verbal information. The account I present depicts development in understanding the mind as a process that continues over a long period ; it contraducts theorists who say that children acquire a theory of mind at the age of 4 years in a singular conceptual shift. Introduction : Theory of mind as a form of intelligence Psychologists, educationalists, philosophers and computer scientists have long been consumed with the challenge of identifying the character of human intelligence. Success in this enterprise holds promise of a more intimate understanding of the human condition, which will help to create highly efficient educational programmes, both for the benefit of those who develop typically and for those with special needs. It might also feed into the construction of more effective 'intelligent systems'. This is especially relevant in contemporary society, where the limitation in artificial intelligence might lie not in software or hardware, but in our conception of what it means to be humanly intelligent. It is possible that intelligence is compartmentalized, since excellence in one kind of intellectual feat, like playing chess, does not guarantee effectiveness in understanding other people. If we could understand which intellectual qualities allow a sophisticated understanding of people, then we would be able to take an important step towards developing artificial systems that really are humanly intelligent. Perhaps we would also be able to develop educational programmes that are better adapted to the intellectual profile that most children are endowed with. Also, thanks to recent research into the development of an understanding of the mind, we now have much greater insight into the perplexing and socially debilitating effects of autism. Although applications from the research are still in their infancy, they are beginning to enabled us to formulate more effective educational and therapeutic interventions. Historical contributions to research in theory of mind Piaget had the striking insight that the inflexibility of intellectual functioning in younger children, who have yet to acquire operational intelligence, would be manifest as egocentrism. This egocentrism supposedly is measurable in its own right, but its effects can