Our lab examines children’s social cognitive development, in particular, how children develop an appreciation of mental states like belief, desire, and intention, i.e., theory of mind. Further, we are interested in the role executive functions, e.g., inhibitory control and working memory, play in the emergence and expression of children’s theory of mind. We employ behavioral methods to study typically developing children and individuals with autism who experience impairments in theory of mind and executive functions.

Click here to download the Children’s Social Understanding Scale