Investigating the role of heredity and environmental factors in the development of cognitive and affective dimensions of theory of mind by comparing ordinary 4-6-year-old children, identical and non-identical twins and orphaned children

Maryam Sedighi ¹ ( Associate Prof. of Educational Psychology, Department of Psychology, College of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Islamic Azad University-Marvdasht branch, Marvdasht, Iran )
Majid Barzegar ² ( Ph.D. Student of Educational Psychology, Department of Psychology, College of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Islamic Azad University-Marvdasht branch, Marvdasht, Iran )
Maryam Kouroshnia ³ ( Associate Prof. of Educational Psychology, Department of Psychology, College of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Islamic Azad University-Marvdasht branch, Marvdasht, Iran )
Ghasem naziri ⁴ ( Associate Prof. of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, College of Economic and Management, Islamic Azad University-Shiraz branch, Shiraz, Iran )

Submited date : 2023-07-24 Accepted date : 2024-04-22

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Abstract :

Abstract
Introduction: The present study aimed to compare the growth of cognitive and aaffective dimensions of theory of mind between normal children, identical and non-identical twins with children in orphanages to determine to what extent this growth is influenced by the heredity factor and to what extent it is influenced by the environmental factor.
Methods: In this causal-comparative study, the performance of 96 four- to six-year-old children who were selected based on convenience sampling were compared in cognitive and affective theory of mind tasks . Verbal skills as a moderating variable in the development of theory of mind were measured with the help of two verbal subscales of the Wechsler IQ test for children, but the data were controlled through covariance analysis.
Findings: The findings indicated that there was no significant difference between children who were raised in their own families (both twins and normal children) and foster children, and there was a significant difference in the affective dimension of theory of mind between identical twin children and normal and non-identical children. In general, the results supported the hypothesis that compared to the heredity factor, the environment has a weaker role in the development of children's theory of mind if the effect of verbal development is removed. The findings emphasize the importance of fostering the cognitive and affective development of the theory of mind, especially in the case of orphaned children.