Social understanding and language

جستارهای نوین ادبی

Article 6, Volume 40, Issue 2 - Serial Number 157, September 2007, Pages 115-134   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/jls.v40i4.13173

Abstract

Social interaction requires the ability to understand people’s mental states (their intentions, desires and believes). The ability for attributing mental states is called “theory of mind.” Theory of mind leads the person to explain and predict behavior. Researchers showed a great interest in the relation of language and mind/language and thought. Some researchers focused on methodological concerns and explain how language influences children’s performance in the area of theory of mind. Others argue that language plays a causal role on developing mental theory reasoning. The writer of this article has discussed the theories and researches done in the area of language abilities and mental theory reasoning.

Keywords: Language, mental theory, false belief