The relative contributions of verbal ability and inhibitory control to theory of mind in physical and affective domains

Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to attribute mental states to other people that may or may not differ from reality. However, much of the literature on ToM is devoted to tasks that measure false belief understanding in regard to beliefs about objects. This study looks at the role of verbal ability and executive function in physical and affective domains. Results indicate that verbal ability, measured through Mean Length of Utterance (MLU), was predictive of affective, but not physical tasks. Executive functioning was not predictive of tasks in either domain. The role of embedded mental states and implications to theory theory are discussed.