ABSTRACT
Communication among adults is grounded in a theory of mind. As Grice (1957) and others (e.g. Clark & Marshall, 1981; Rommetveit, 1979) have made clear, we cannot make sense of communicative interactions without presupposing that the interlocutors possess mutual knowledge of relevant beliefs and intentions. In the case of children, recent research indicates that a rudimentary theory of mind is well in place by the early preschool years, as are a rich array of communicative skills (Moses & Chandler, 1992; Perner, 1991; Wellman, 1990). The present volume is centrally concerned with the origins of a theory of mind. One way in which we might profitably search for these origins is to examine the path of communicative development as a potential window on early understanding of the mental realm. Communicative development is a particularly rich arena for examining theory of mind development. Mature communicative skills depend on, and thus index, theory of mind abilities. Further, as communicative competence increases, children gain access to increasingly powerful sources of information about the mind. In this way communicative development not only reflects advances in mentalistic understanding, but also makes possible further enrichments in children's theories of mind.
