Teoria da mente, funções executivas e regulação emocional na infância: um estudo com alunos do ensino fundamental

Abstract

The ability to infer and attribute mental states (i.e., beliefs, desires, emotions and intentions) to oneself and to others is called theory of mind, being fundamental for success in social interactions. Executive functions, defined as the set of complex cognitive capacities that regulate and manage human actions, are also socially relevant. It is understood that human behavior has an important subsidy in the ability to understand mental states, in cognitive regulation and also through emotional regulation, the latter involving the expressiveness and regulation of emotions according to social demands. In this context, the aim of this thesis was to evaluate the possible relationships between theory of mind, executive functions and emotional regulation in schoolchildren, presented in three parts. Initially, a brief theoretical foundation necessary for subsequent research is submitted, which includes a historical-conceptual contextualization and one of the development of the theory of mind and its possible interfaces with executive functions and emotional regulation. The second part, in the form of an article, presents the first study, a systematic review of empirical studies in the area of theory of mind that evaluated this ability in school-age children. The number of investigations was found to have been growing, especially in the last five years. In the third part there is the second study, also in the form of an article, which presents empirical research that evaluated theory of mind (cognitive and affective), executive functions (inhibitory control) and emotional regulation in 148 studentes (average age 8.33 years old), pupils from public and private schoolsin a city in the state of Minas Gerais. The results of this study showed that the group of children from the private network showed significantly better performance in the evaluation of theory of mind. Correlation analyses revealed a significant association between cognitive mind theory and inhibitory control and for emotional regulation and inhibitory control. Another finding was that affective theory of mind and inhibitory control predict cognitive theory of mind. It is hoped that the results obtained inthis set of studies may contribute to a better understanding of investigations in theory of mind with schoolchildren and the relationships between this socio-cognitive capacity, executive functions and emotional regulation. It is concluded that the research body contemplating the development of theory of mind in schoolchildren is increasing, but is still limited in the national scenario and that the relationships between theory of mind, executive functions and emotional regulation need further studies, since the results of the investigations already carried out have contrasting findings, especially with regard to the possible relationship between theory of mind and emotional regulation.