Theory-of-mind training improves children’s resistance to being lured away by strangers

Abstract

Even though children are often warned about ill-intentioned strangers who might try to lure them away, they are still vulnerable to such threats. Our research tested a theory-of-mind strategy to address this problem. Study 1 (N = 121, 58 females, 2021) replicated previous findings showing that 3- to 5-year-old Chinese children with better theory-of-mind skills were less vulnerable to being lured away by a stranger in a version of the simulated-risk paradigm used in public health research. Study 2 (N = 47, 27 females, 2022) demonstrated that theory-of-mind training reduced 3-year-old Chinese children’s vulnerability to such threats. These results provide empirical support for the benefits of theory-of-mind training as a strategy to help protect children.

Keywords

Theory-of-mind selective trust training simulated-risk paradigm children

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