ABSTRACT
This chapter examines existing evidence that is pertinent to this hypothesis. It reviews the existing studies on children's use of direction of eye gaze to infer another's desires, followed by their use of eye gaze information for inferring knowledge and thoughts. The chapter discusses future studies that are needed to elucidate the relation between children's theory of mind understanding and their use of eye gaze for mind reading purposes. The ability to use eye gaze as source of information has a long evolutionary history. Animals, from reptiles to birds and mammals, show sensitivity to, and exhibit different behaviors based on another's direction of eye gaze. Children's ability to interpret gaze information to infer desire appears to be intimately connected to their developing understanding of others' mental states. The reviewed literature indicates that by preschool age, children can infer a great deal about mental states from eye gaze.
