Peeking and lying in the temptation resistance paradigm in 2.5-year-olds: The role of inhibitory control.

The main aim of the present study was to establish whether inhibitory control (IC) abilities influence the peeking and lying behaviours of 2.5-year-olds, as measured by a modified temptation resistance paradigm (mTRP). Using a longitudinal design, 252 children's IC abilities were tested at ages 1.5, 2 and 2.5, as well as their ability to lie at age 2.5. Results showed that 35% of 2.5-year-olds peeked, 27% of peekers lied and 40% of non-peekers falsely confessed they had peeked. Non-peekers had higher IC than peekers at ages 2 and 2.5. Lower IC at age 2 increased the probability of peeking at age 2.5 by 6 times. The highest level of IC was presented in children who followed the adult's restrictions in the mTRP and were then able to tell the truth about their behaviour. These results suggested that the first, or so-called primary, lies of 2.5-year-olds are probably spontaneous, rather than deliberate. Implications for further research were discussed.

Coordinating movements and beliefs: Different facets of doing things together.

This study investigates the relations between two forms of joint action (JA)-movement coordination (MC) and goal attainment-and theory of mind (ToM), contrasting the interactionist and traditional cognitivist views. A custom task was carried out to measure the properties of the JAs between children and their parents, while classical tasks were performed to measure first- and second-order ToM. Thereafter, cross-recurrence quantification analysis was applied to quantify participants' movements. The children were from Poland and were aged 42, 66, and 78 months (N = 297, 133 girls, White, from a large city). The results suggested that the characteristics of dyad MC influence goal attainment and are related to children's first-order ToM (R2  = .447) but not to their second-order ToM.

Developmental continuity in coordination of perspectives as an alternative to the implicit and explicit theory of mind controversy.

The dichotomy between explicit and implicit theory of mind remains controversial. This study proposed a developmental and social-constructionist perspective that challenges this notion through a model showing that coordination of perspectives (CoP) is a continuously developing ability in children. Our tested model comprises eight distinct abilities that emerge sequentially. We tested our model using 25 different tasks in a longitudinal six-wave study with 300 native Polish children aged from 1 year (MT1 = 1 year 0 months; SDT1 = 1.73 weeks; 44% girls) to 3.5 years (MT6 = 3 years 6 months; SDT6 = 1.81 weeks; 45% girls). All children were Caucasian; both parents of 54% children had university degree. Structural equation modeling with factor scores for each of the eight abilities was used to verify the fit of obtained data. We provide preliminary support for distinguishing six abilities: (a) immediate social perspective-tracking and taking at age of 1 year, (b) deferred social perspective-tracking and visual perspective-taking as an intermediate step at age of 2 years, and (c) epistemic perspective-tracking and taking at 3.5 years. Using our new nomenclature-emphasizing the function of coordination of own and another person perspective in social situations-we found that development of mindreading begins when infants coordinate their bodily-expressed orientations with those of others, and by the age of 4 is manifested by coordinating own and others mental states. Thus, we support the idea of heterotypic continuity of mindreading development. Development of CoP and difference between perspective-tracking and taking should be further elucidated. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Let's do it together! The role of interaction in false belief understanding.

From the interaction theory perspective, we aimed to verify whether the interactive context in which theory of mind is measured can allow children younger than 4 years to pass the verbal false belief task (FBT). Therefore, an interactive FBT (iFBT) was devised, in which children were actively engaged in the story, and was used to test 210 children twice: first when they were 3 years old and again when they were 3.5 years old. Most 3-year-olds were unable to pass the iFBT (28% passed), but a half year later their performance was enhanced and they passed at a rate above chance level (59% passed). In addition, among 3.5-year-olds, passing the iFBT increases the chance of passing the standard FBT by four times. We conclude that the interactive mode of the FBT facilitates false belief understanding in children under 4 years of age.

Waiting for a treat. Studying behaviors related to self-regulation in 18- and 24-month-olds.

The ability to delay gratification - conceived as an early expression of self-regulation - develops in the second half of the second year of life. We used inductive methodology to identify different behaviors and set of behaviors performed by children while waiting for a treat. We asked which sets are more effective when it comes to successfully delaying gratification and how all observed sets change during toddler age. 130 children were tested twice - at 18 and at 24 months - using a Snack Delay Task. We observed 20 different behaviors and distinguished 4 sets of behaviors. The most important and effective set for delaying gratification in 18 and in 24 month olds was the set called Attention and Movements. We concluded that growth in the ability to delay gratification resulted from increased ability to overcome temptation by using an active strategy mainly based on attention.

Developing the behavioural constellation of deprivation: Relationships, emotions, and not quite being in the present.

Although it is a welcome and timely idea, the behavioural constellation of deprivation (BCD) needs to explain how the development of personal control, trust, and perception of future risk is mediated through relationships with parents. Further, prioritising the present over the future may not be the essence of this constellation; perhaps not quite being, either in the present or in the future, is a better depiction.