Russell conducts an experiment to study children's theory of mind. He selects participants and divides them into two groups. The first group consists of 3-year-olds, whereas the second group consists of 5-year-olds. Russell takes a box of crayons and places candies in them. He opens the box and shows it to both groups. Next, he asks the first group what a child who has never seen the box will think is actually inside the box. The group replies, "Candies!" To the same question, the second group replies, "Crayons!" This scenario illustrates that
A) children refer to cognitive states earlier than they refer to desires.
B) 3-year-old children have a deepening appreciation of the mind.
C) 5-year-old children believe that people's behaviors necessarily reflect their thoughts and feelings.
D) children younger than 4 years old do not understand that it is possible to have a false belief.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The scenario illustrates that children younger than 4 years old do not understand that it is possible to have a false belief, as shown by the 3-year-olds' expectation that someone who has never seen the box would think it contains candies, not understanding that the person would have a false belief based on the box's appearance.

Russell Conducts an Experiment to Study Children's Theory of Mind