The impact of communicational skills training on improving children's theory of mind

Theory of mind is one of the most important topics in social cognition, and since it is a prerequisite to understand the social environment and involvement in competitive social behavior in recent decades has been considered in the field of psychology. Therefore, the main purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of communication skills training on enhancing children's theory of mind. The study was an experimental design with pretest-posttest and control group. The population consisted of all normal 8-9 years female students in Kermanshah. In this regard, 30 students were selected by cluster and random sampling and were randomly assignment to experimental and control groups. Theory of mind scale as a test of 38 questions was used to obtain the data. The experimental group was trained in communication skills during seven sessions of treatment. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (covariance). The results showed that there was a significant difference in terms of theory of mind (p<0/001) between the experimental and control groups. The results of follow-up tests done 30 days after the post-test showed stable results. Training children for communication skills enhanced their theory of mind and since the activities taught were according to Albert Ellis’s rational - emotional therapy and due to the close relationship between social cognition and emotion, visible impact on the promotion of children`s theory of mind in the experimental group can be explained.