Mehreen Fatima and Nandita Babu
University of Delhi, India
Theory of mind and moral reasoning are two distinct yet related domains under the realm
of social cognition that have consequences for the social functioning of individuals. The
aim of this study was to examine the developmental progression of both theory of mind
and moral reasoning in early childhood and to examine the effect of the development
of the theory of mind on the moral reasoning of young children. Theory of mind & moral
reasoning tasks exclusively designed for the present study were administered on ninety
3-year-old, 4-year-old & 5-year-old-children. Results of one-way ANOVA revealed a
significant development of both theory of mind and moral reasoning abilities between
3 to 5 years of age. Also, the t-test of significance for two independent groups revealed
that children who had developed theory of mind skills performed significantly better
on moral reasoning tasks as compared to children who had not developed a theory of
mind. Further, the analysis of responses given to the moral reasoning tasks revealed
that the children with a developed theory of mind gave more intention-based responses
in contrast to children who had not developed a theory of mind and made consequence-
based responses. The study has implications for understanding the crossroads between
the theory of mind and moral reasoning abilities, which are possibly linked by virtue of
intentionality as a common underlying construct.