Children's understanding of values as mental concepts: Longitudinal changes and association with theory of mind

Kinneret Misgav*, Anat Chomsky, Ella Daniel

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

We investigated the conceptualization of values as mental constructs at the beginning of middle childhood. Values describe aspirations guiding individuals in life. Although 6-year-olds report meaningful values, a past cross-sectional study suggested they may conceptualize them in non-mental terms. We interviewed children on their values at two time-points (N = 299, M age T1 = 7.25 years, Mage T2 = 7.94 years). Mental value conceptualization increased over time. Different value types were conceptualized in mental terms to a similar extent. At T2, self-important values were conceptualized in mental terms less than not-important ones. We also suggest that Theory of Mind (ToM) may be an underlying mechanism for the increased level of mental conceptualization over time. A cross-lagged panel model indicated that T1 ToM predicted advances in T2 mental conceptualization, and T1 mental conceptualization predicted advances in T2 ToM. As children develop in their understanding of the social world, their values may transform from observable to mental, possibly making them better motivators of behavior.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)958-975
Number of pages18
JournalSocial Development
Volume32
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2023

Keywords

  • development
  • internal mental states
  • longitudinal study
  • theory of mind
  • values

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Children's understanding of values as mental concepts: Longitudinal changes and association with theory of mind'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this