Abstract We still know very little about the longitudinal relationships between Theory of Mind (ToM) and metaphor understanding in typically developing children. We examined this issue by using a short-term longitudinal design, and by distinguishing between metaphor accuracy (the ability to understand metaphors) and specificity of mental interpretation (the ability to interpret mentally mental, but not physical metaphors). We also distinguished between ToM and the ability to make inferences about physical states. 54 typically developing children (aged 8;6–9;4 years) were tested at baseline and 6 months later. Results showed that metaphor accuracy and inferential skills about physical states were bi-directionally related over time, whereas early specificity of mental interpretation predicted later ToM (and not vice versa). We conclude that: (a) metaphor comprehension and general inferential abilities develop side by side in a mutually supportive way; and (b) the tendency to mentally interpret mental metaphors is a driving factor in ToM development.

中文翻译：

---

童年中期心理理论与隐喻理解的纵向关联

摘要 我们对心理理论（ToM）与典型发育儿童的隐喻理解之间的纵向关系知之甚少。我们通过使用短期纵向设计来研究这个问题，并通过区分隐喻准确性（理解隐喻的能力）和心理解释的特殊性（解释心理心理而非物理隐喻的能力）。我们还区分了 ToM 和推断物理状态的能力。54 名正常发育的儿童（8 岁；6-9 岁；4 岁）在基线和 6 个月后接受了测试。结果表明，隐喻准确性和关于身体状态的推理技能随着时间的推移是双向相关的，而早期心理解释的特异性预测了后来的 ToM（反之亦然）。我们得出结论：(a) 隐喻理解和一般推理能力以相互支持的方式并存；(b) 从心理上解释心理隐喻的倾向是 ToM 发展的驱动因素。