The Effect of Theory of Mind Abilities on Children’s Evaluations of Gossip with Different Contents

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 4 Sayı: 1, 67 - 82, 31.01.2025

Muhammed Sukru Aydın , İkra Nur Ay , Zeynep Sena Gram , Hülya Taş , Zeynep Şevval Taş

https://doi.org/10.15659/tjss.2025.005

Öz

Gossip is a phenomenon that we encounter in all period of human life and it is related to social-cognitive processes. However, the issue of how cognitive processes affect the understanding of gossip, especially in children, has not been addressed sufficiently in literature. Therefore, the current study examined whether children’s ability to evaluate positive, negative and neutral gossip differs depending on the development of theory of mind ability. A total of 45 children (21 girls) aged between 40-45 months participated in the study. In this quasi-experimental study, children were first shown positive, negative and neutral gossip scenarios and their reasoning of gossip were measured by sharing stickers with the characters in these scenarios. In addition, theory of mind abilities of children was evaluated with three different tasks. Following the pre-test, an educational program prepared to develop children’s theory of mind abilities was applied. After the program, the gossip scenarios applied in the pre-test were used again; evaluations were made with equivalent tasks for theory of mind abilities. The results showed that children were able to distinguish between positive, negative and neutral gossip in both pre-test and post-test. In addition, it was also found that there was a significant increase in the evaluations of the children who received theory of mind training towards the characters who gossiped with positive and neutral content after the training. It was concluded that although the evaluations towards the character who spreads negative gossip were perceived more negatively after theory of mind training, but this effect was not at the level of significance.

Anahtar Kelimeler

gossip, understanding of gossip, intervention program, theory of mind

Proje Numarası

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Zihin Kuramı Becerisinin Çocukların Farklı İçerikteki Dedikodulara Yönelik Değerlendirmelerindeki Etkisi

Öz

Dedikodu insan yaşamının her döneminde karşımıza çıkan sosyal-bilişsel süreçlerle ilişkili bir olgudur. Ancak özellikle çocuklarda bilişsel süreçlerin dedikoduya yönelik anlayışı nasıl etkilediği konusu çalışmalarda yeteri kadar ele alınmamıştır. Dolayısıyla şimdiki araştırmada çocukların olumlu, olumsuz ve nötr içerikli dedikoduları değerlendirme becerilerinin zihin kuramı gelişimine bağlı olarak farklılaşıp farklılaşmadığı incelenmiştir. Araştırmaya yaşları 40-45 aylık arasında değişen 45 (21 kız) çocuk katılmıştır. Yarı-deneysel desene sahip olan bu araştırmada çocuklara ilk olarak olumlu, olumsuz ve nötr dedikodu senaryoları izletilmiş ve buradaki karakterlere etiket (sticker) paylaşımları ile dedikoduyu değerlendirmelerinin ölçümü alınmıştır. Ayrıca üç farklı görev ile çocukların zihin kuramı becerileri de değerlendirilmiştir. Ön test uygulamalarının ardından çocukların zihin kuramı becerilerini geliştirmeye yönelik hazırlanan eğitim programı uygulanmıştır. Eğitimden sonra ön testte uygulanan dedikodu senaryoları tekrar kullanılmış; zihin kuramı becerileri için de eş değer görevlerle değerlendirmeler yapılmıştır. Analizler sonucunda çocukların hem ön test hem son testte olumlu, olumsuz ve nötr içerikli dedikoduları ayırt edebildikleri görülmüştür. Buna ek olarak, zihin kuramı eğitimi uygulanan çocukların olumlu ve nötr içerikli dedikodu yapan karakterlere yönelik değerlendirmelerinde eğitim sonrasında anlamlı düzeyde artış olduğu bulunmuştur. Olumsuz dedikodu yayan karaktere yönelik değerlendirmelerin ise zihin kuramı eğitimi sonrasında daha olumsuz karşılanmakla birlikte bu etkinin anlamlılık düzeyinde olmadığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

dedikodu, dedikodu anlayışı, eğitim programı, zihin kuramı

Etik Beyan

Bu çalışmamın hazırlık, veri toplama, analiz ve bulguların sunumu olmak üzere tüm aşamalarında bilimsel etik ilke ve kurallara uygun davranılmıştır.

Destekleyen Kurum

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Proje Numarası

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Kaynakça

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