Rose Scott: UC Merced

A large part of our daily lives involves interpreting other people’s behavior in terms of their underlying mental states. In particular, the capacity to recognize that others may hold and act on false beliefs plays a vital role in social interactions. The question of when and how false-belief understanding develops is currently the subject of considerable debate. In this talk, I will present recent evidence suggesting that a robust understanding of belief is present in infancy, but children’s ability to demonstrate this understanding depends on situational demands. I will also discuss ongoing projects that explore how cultural factors might give rise to individual variation in the use of this ability.