Theory-of-mind among Arab monolingual and bilingual children : a comparative study

Abstract

This study aims to investigate Theory of Mind (ToM) in Arabic monolinguals and Arabic-English bilinguals. We hypothesized that the bilingual group would outperform the monolinguals on ToM tasks. This study well also answers the main question: are there any differences in ToM development between monolinguals and bilingual Arab children. A total of 160 children participated in this study, which employed an exploratory comparative approach. The participants were aged between 3-12 years, and were divided into two groups: Arabic monolinguals, and Arabic-English bilinguals. Hutchins and Prelock’s Theory of Mind Task Battery was used, we applied the Arabic version, that was translated and adapted to Arabic by Moawad (2017). Results indicated that bilinguals perform better than monolinguals on subtask (I) the second-order false-belief only, and on ToM total score, and females outperform males in general on the ToM total score, results are discussed in the light of different issues.