Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Psychometric Evaluation of the Theory of Mind Inventory (ToMI): A Study of Typically Developing Children and Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Two studies examined the psychometric properties of the Theory of Mind Inventory (ToMI). In Study One, 135 caregivers completed the ToMI for children (ages 3 through 17) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Findings revealed excellent test–retest reliability and internal consistency. Principle Components Analysis revealed three subscales related to the complexity of ToM understanding. In Study Two, data were collected for 124 typically developing children (2 through 12 years). Findings again revealed excellent test–retest and internal consistency. The ToMI distinguished groups by age (younger vs. older children) and developmental status (typically developing vs. ASD), and predicted child performance on a ToM task battery. Utility of the ToMI, study limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abbeduto, L., & Rosenbberg, S. (1984). Children’s knowledge of the presuppositions of know and other cognitive terms. Journal of Child Language, 12(3), 621–641.

    Google Scholar 

  • Astington, J. W. (1988). Promises: Words or deeds? First Language, 8, 259–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Astington, J. W. (1991). Intention in the child’s theory of mind. In D. Frye & C. Moore (Eds.), Children’s theories of mind: Mental states and social understanding (pp. 157–172). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Astington, J. W. (2003). Sometimes necessary, never sufficient: False belief understanding and social competence. In B. Repacholi & V. Slaughter (Eds.), Individual differences in theory of mind: Implications for typical and atypical development (pp. 13–38). New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Astington, J. W., & Baird, J. A. (2005). Introduction: Why language matters. In J. W. Astington & J. A. Baird (Eds.), Why language matters for theory of mind (pp. 3–25). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S. (1989). Are autistic children ‘behaviorists’? An examination of their mental-physical and appearance-reality distinctions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 19(4), 579–600.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S. (1997). Hey! It was just a joke! Understanding propositions and propositional attitudes by normally developing children and children with autism. Israel Journal of Psychiatry, 34, 174–178.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S. (2000). Theory of mind in autism: A fifteen year review. In S. Baron-Cohen, H. Tager-Flusberg, & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Understanding other minds: Perspectives from developmental neuroscience (pp. 3–20). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Hill, J., Raste, Y., & Plumb, I. (2001). The ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’ test revised version: A study of normal adults, and adults with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42(2), 241–251.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bates, E. (1979). The emergence of symbols: Cognition and communication in infancy. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beaumont, R. B., & Sofronoff, K. (2008). A new computerized advanced theory of mind measure for children with Asperger syndrome: The ATOMIC. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(2), 249–260.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Begeer, S., Rieffe, C., Meerum Terwogt, M., & Stockmann, L. (2003). Theory of mind-based action in children from the autism spectrum. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33, 479–487.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carpendale, J. M., & Chandler, M. J. (1996). On the distinction between false belief understanding and subscribing to an interpretive theory of mind. Child Development, 67, 1686–1706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpendale, J., & Lewis, C. (2006). How children develop social understanding. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandler, M. (1988). Doubt and developing theories of mind. In J. W. Astington, P. L. Harris, & D. R. Olson (Eds.), Developing theories of mind (pp. 387–413). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costello, A. B., & Osborne, J. W. (2005). Best practices in exploratory factor analysis: Four recommendations for getting the most from your analysis. Practical Assessment Research and Evaluation, 10(7), 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies, M., & Stone, T. (2003). Synthesis: Psychological understanding of social skills. In B. Repacholi & V. Slaughter (Eds.), Individual differences in theory of mind: Implications for typical and atypical development (pp. 305–352). New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doherty, M. J. (2009). Theory of mind: How children understand others’ thoughts and feelings. New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, L. M. (2007). Examiner’s manual for the peabody picture vocabulary test (3rd ed.). Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flavell, J. H. (1992). Perspectives on perspective-taking. In H. Beilin & P. Pufall (Eds.), Piaget’s theory: Prospects and possibilities. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flavell, J. H. (1999). Cognitive development: Children’s knowledge about the mind. Annual Review of Psychology, 50, 21–45.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Flavell, J. H., Miller, P. H., & Miller, S. A. (2002). Cognitive development (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frith, C., & Frith, U. (2000). The physiological basis of theory of mind: Functional neuroimaging studies. In S. Baron-Cohen, H. Tager-Flusberg, & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Understanding other minds: Perspectives from developmental neuroscience (pp. 334–356). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frith, U., Happé, F., & Siddons, F. (1994). Autism and theory of mind in everyday life. Social Development, 3, 108–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gopnik, A., & Astington, J. W. (1988). Children’s understanding of representational change and its relation to the understanding of false belief and the appearance-reality distinction. Child Development, 59, 26–37.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Happé, F. (1994). An advanced test of theory of mind: Understanding the story characters thoughts and feelings by able autistic mentally handicapped and normal children and adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 129–154.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Happé, F. (1995). The role of age and verbal ability in the theory of mind task performance of subjects with autism. Child Development, 66, 843–855.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchins, T., Bonazinga, L., Prelock, P. A., & Taylor, R. S. (2008a). Beyond false beliefs: The development and psychometric evaluation of the perceptions of children’s theory of mind measure—experimental version (PCToMM-E). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(1), 143–155.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchins, T. L., & Prelock, P. A. (2006). Using social stories and comic strip conversations to promote socially valid outcomes for children with autism. Seminars in Speech and Language, 27(1), 47–59.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchins, T. L., & Prelock, P. A. (2008). Supporting theory of mind development: Considerations and recommendations for professionals providing services to individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Topics in Language Disorders, 28(4), 338–362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchins, T., Prelock, P. A., & Chace, W. (2008b). Test–retest reliability of theory of mind tasks representing a range of content and complexity and adapted to facilitate the performance of children with ASD. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 23(4), 195–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James, P. J., & Tager-Flusberg, H. (1994). An observational study of humor in autism and Down syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24(5), 603–617.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kazak, S., Collins, G. M., & Lewis, V. (1997). Can young people with autism refer to knowledge states? Evidence from their understanding of ‘know’ and ‘guess”. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38(8), 1001–1009.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keenan, T. (2003). The preschool years and beyond. In B. Repacholi & V. Slaughter (Eds.), Individual differences in theory of mind (pp. 121–142). New York, Hove: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J. O., & Mueller, C. W. (1978). Introduction to factor analysis: What it is and how to do it. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klin, A., Schultz, R., & Cohen, D. J. (2000). Theory of mind in action: Developmental perspectives on social neuroscience. In S. Baron-Cohen, H. Tager-Flusberg, & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Understanding other minds: Perspectives from developmental neuroscience (pp. 357–390). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lalonde, C. E., & Chandler, M. (1995). False belief understanding goes to school: On the social-emotional consequences of coming early or late to a first theory of mind. Cognition and Emotion, 9, 167–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leekam, S. R., & Prior, M. (1994). Can autistic children distinguish lies from jokes? A second look at second-order belief attribution. Journal of Children Psychology and Psychiatry, 35(5), 901–915.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, M., Hutchins, T. L., & Prelock, P. A. (2011). Brief report: Preliminary psychometric evaluation of the ToMI and its relations to social skills. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 41, 512–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leslie, A. M. (1987). Pretense and representation: The origins of ‘theory of mind’. Psychological Review, 94, 412–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leslie, A. M., & Frith, U. (1998). Autistic children’s understanding of seeing, knowing, and believing. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 6, 315–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCauley, R. (2001). Assessment of language disorders in children. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGhee, P. E. (1979). Humor: Its origins and development. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, C., & Furrow, D. (1991). The development of the language of belief: The expression of relative certainty. In D. Frye & C. Moore (Eds.), Children’s theories of mind: Mental states and social understanding (pp. 173–193). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, C., & Povinelle, D. J. (2007). Differences in how 12- and 24-month-olds interpret the gaze of adults. Infancy, 11(3), 215–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perner, J. (1991). Understanding the representational mind. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perner, J., & Lang, G. (2000). Theory of mind and executive function: Is there a developmental relationship? In S. Baron-Cohen, H. Tager-Flusberg, & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Understanding other minds: Perspectives from developmental neuroscience (pp. 150–181). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perner, J., Sprung, M., & Steinkogler, B. (2004). Counterfactual conditionals and false belief: A developmental dissociation. Cognitive Development, 19, 179–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C., Wellman, H., & Liu, D. (2005). Steps in theory of mind development for children with deafness or autism. Child Development, 76(2), 502–517.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pillow, B. H. (1991). Children’s understanding of biased social cognition. Developmental Psychology, 27(4), 539–551.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, S. R. (2008). Review of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (4th ed). In K. F. Geisinger, R. A. Spies, J. F. Carlson & B. S. Plake (Eds.) The eighteenth mental measurements yearbook (pp. 143–144). Lincoln, NE: The Buros Institute of Mental Measurements.

  • Slaughter, V., & Repacholi, B. (2003). Introduction: Individual differences in theory of mind. In B. Repacholi & V. Slaughter (Eds.), Individual differences in theory of mind (pp. 1–12). New York: Taylor & Francis Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sparrow, S. S., Cicchetti, D. V., & Balla, D. A. (2005). Vineland adaptive behavior scales (2nd ed.). San Antonio, TX: Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sprung, M. (2010). Clinically relevant measures of children’s theory of mind and knowledge about thinking: Non-standard and advanced measures. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 15, 204–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, K., Winner, E., & Hopfield, N. (1995). How children tell a lie from a joke: The role of second-order mental state attributions. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 13, 191–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tager-Flusberg, H. (1999). The challenge of studying language development in children with autism. In L. Menn & N. Bernstein Ratner (Eds.), Methods for studying language production (pp. 313–331). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomasello, M. (1995). Joint attention as social cognition. In C. Moore & P. J. Dunham (Eds.), Joint attention: It’s origins and role in development (pp. 103–130). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walden, T., & Ogan, T. (1988). The development of social referencing. Child Development, 59, 1230–1240.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wellman, H. M., Cross, D., & Watson, J. (2001). Meta-analysis of theory-of-mind development: The truth about false beliefs. Child Development, 72, 655–684.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wimmer, H., & Perner, J. (1983). Beliefs and beliefs: Representation and constraining function of wrong beliefs in young children’s understanding of deception. Cognition, 13, 103–128.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Vermont, 489 Main Street, 407 Pomeroy Hall, Burlington, VT, 05452, USA

    Tiffany L. Hutchins & Patricia A. Prelock

  2. Burlington, VT, USA

    Laura Bonazinga

Authors
  1. Tiffany L. Hutchins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Patricia A. Prelock
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Laura Bonazinga
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tiffany L. Hutchins.

Appendix

Appendix

The continuum response arrangement used in the ToMI.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hutchins, T.L., Prelock, P.A. & Bonazinga, L. Psychometric Evaluation of the Theory of Mind Inventory (ToMI): A Study of Typically Developing Children and Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 42, 327–341 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1244-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1244-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation