Relationship Between Deictic Relational Responding and Theory of Mind Tasks in Children: A Pilot Study

Perspective taking has been referred to as the cognitive ability to take on another individual’s viewpoint, so as to infer that person’s thoughts, emotions, and motivation. The issue of perspective taking has traditionally been studied within a cognitive-developmental approach, often under the rubric of Theory of Mind. Recent research in the area of Relational Frame Theory has suggested that deictic relations, such as I-You, Here-There, and Now-Then, form the basis of the perspective taking repertoire. The present study examined the effect of in situ deictic relations training on traditional perspective taking measures, such as Theory of Mind tasks. Six typically developing children participated in this study, three of whom were designated as control participants. The results showed that, although deictic relations can be established following a history of reinforcement and visual prompts, it was not possible to confirm the relationship between deictic relational responding and Theory of Mind tasks. Implications of these findings and future lines of research are discussed.