To successfully pull a practical joke on someone, children need to understand that their victims do not know what they themselves know, be able to intentionally manipulate others’ beliefs, and maintain a straight face to safeguard the integrity of the joke. This study examined the relationship between children’s developing theory of mind (ToM), inhibitory control, and their ability to pull a practical joke. Ninety-five children between ages 2 and 6 participated in, among other measures, a practical joke task that required them to knowingly give one of the experimenters a gift box containing a rubber insect. Results showed that children’s ability to pull a practical joke was significantly related to their age, false belief understanding (FBU), inhibitory control, and verbal ability. Children with more siblings were more likely to successfully pull a practical joke. Most importantly, inhibitory control was shown to mediate the relation between FBU and practical joking. The findings provide evidence that practical joking as an example of ToM use is effortful.

为了成功地向某人开一个恶作剧，孩子们需要了解，他们的受害者不知道自己的知识，能够有意操纵他人的信念，并保持直面表情以维护笑话的完整性。这项研究检查了儿童发展中的心理理论（ToM），抑制性控制与他们开玩笑的能力之间的关系。除其他措施外，有95名2至6岁的儿童参加了一项实际的玩笑任务，要求他们有意识地给其中一个实验者一个装有橡皮虫的礼物盒。结果表明，孩子开玩笑的能力与他们的年龄，错误信念理解（FBU），抑制性控制和言语能力显着相关。兄弟姐妹较多的孩子更有可能成功地开玩笑。最重要的是，抑制性控制被证明可以介导FBU与实际玩笑之间的关系。这些发现提供了证据，证明以开玩笑为例，实际开玩笑是费力的。