What are the studies about?

Our research team investigates children’s “theory of mind,” or the ability to understand that other people’s thoughts, wants, and feelings may be different from their own.

This helps children and adolescents to make sense of what people say and do in different situations. Our research also studies how “theory of mind” may play a role in children’s interactions with others, including their classmates, teachers, parents, siblings, and companion animals or pets.

Educators believe that the exploration of how young individuals make meaning of how people think, feel, and act, we will better understand the mental and social world of our youth. Some of our studies also explore how teachers make sense of their students’ social and emotional abilities within the classroom. We hope our research will provide a detailed picture of the age and gender differences in children’s and adolescent’s psychological understanding and social behaviour.

Findings from our studies may help to broaden our understanding of young people’s complex school experiences. Our long-term objective is to investigate the link between social-emotional reasoning and social behaviour in children and adolescents, and to see how gender and language plays a role throughout development. Our research group is dedicated to the promotion of lifelong learning, with a goal to assist in the co-construction of curriculum and intervention programs that seek to foster the whole learner (cognitive, social, emotional, and spiritual lives).

Some of our related research questions include:

  • How do children’s and adolescents’ ability to “read the thoughts and feelings of others” develop over time, and how does this ability affect their self-worth and peer relations within the school context?
  • Does the ability to make sense of other people’s behaviours in terms of human relations become more advanced with time, and how do children use their social reasoning skills to form their actions within the classroom?
    • Do girls differ from boys?
    • What role does language and cultural context play?