<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> Children’s self-concept and theory of mind are both important factors in children’s social, cognitive and emotional development. Research on gender differences in children’s theory of mind understanding reveals contradictory findings such as higher degree of social understanding or theory of mind in girls (Villaneuva Badenes, Clemente Estevan, &amp; Garcia Bacete 2000), boys score higher than girls (Russell et al., 2007), or no gender differences at all (Villaneuva Badenes, Clemente Estevan, &amp; Garcia Bacete, 2000). This research study is part of a larger 3-year longitudinal study, investigating children’s social and emotional development during middle childhood. This study explores the gendered relations between self-concept and social understanding (including psychological language) in middle school aged children (n = 49, ages 11-13). Results suggest a negative correlation between boys’ sense of self-worth and psychological language. Implications for curriculum development that promotes socio-emotional literacy within middle school are discussed</p></abstract>

Children’s self-concept and theory of mind are both important factors in children’s social, cognitive and emotional development. Research on gender differences in children’s theory of mind understanding reveals contradictory findings such as higher degree of social understanding or theory of mind in girls (Villaneuva Badenes, Clemente Estevan, & Garcia Bacete 2000), boys score higher than girls (Russell et al., 2007), or no gender differences at all (Villaneuva Badenes, Clemente Estevan, & Garcia Bacete, 2000). This research study is part of a larger 3-year longitudinal study, investigating children’s social and emotional development during middle childhood. This study explores the gendered relations between self-concept and social understanding (including psychological language) in middle school aged children (n = 49, ages 11-13). Results suggest a negative correlation between boys’ sense of self-worth and psychological language. Implications for curriculum development that promotes socio-emotional literacy within middle school are discussed

Brief Report: The Role of Psychological Language in Children’S Theory of Mind and Self-Concept Development

Faculty of Education, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Ave., St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada

Psychology of Language and Communication

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Children’s self-concept and theory of mind are both important factors in children’s social, cognitive and emotional development. Research on gender differences...

Brief Report: The Role of Psychological Language in Children’S Theory of Mind and Self-Concept Development

Published Online: May 02, 2014

Page range: 41 - 52

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/plc-2014-0003

Keywords
Theory of Mind, self-concept, social-cognition, middle childhood

© by Sandra L. Bosacki

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Brief Report: The Role of Psychological Language in Children’S Theory of Mind and Self-Concept Development

Published Online: May 02, 2014

Page range: 41 - 52

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/plc-2014-0003

KeywordsTheory of Mind, self-concept, social-cognition, middle childhood

© by Sandra L. Bosacki

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Keywords
Theory of Mind, self-concept, social-cognition, middle childhood