Theory of Mind and peer acceptance: relation with machiavellian attitudes, empathy and moral reasoning

Abstract

Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to the ability to recognize and attribute mental states to oneself and others. Many researches have tried to assess the diverse connections between that complex construct and multiple cognitive and social variables. The aim of the current study is determining whether children's social preference is associated with a specific mentalist profile resulting from the combination of Theory of Mind, machiavellian attitudes, empathy and moral reasoning, and to analyse the interrelation between ToM and these three latter constructs.