Interactions between domain general and domain specific processes in the development of children's theories of mind

Much of our everyday cognition is social. We allocate substantial intellectual resources to predicting and interpreting human action and interaction in terms of underlying mental states. The acquisition of a ``theory of mind'' (ToM) is thus a cornerstone developmental achievement. Moreover, ToM de®cits have been increasingly linked to clinical disorders such as autism (Baron-Cohen, Tager-Flusberg, & Cohen, 2000) and schizophrenia (Langdon, 2005). Hence, it is vital to determine when such a theory is acquired, what governs its emergence and expression, how it changes with development, and what disrupts its functioning.