The Surprising Ability of Putting Ourselves in Others’ Shoes
A kids’ game reveals the mysteries of its development
Let’s play a game.
This is the story of Anne and Sally. They are friends and they have a box and a basket. They also have a marble to play with. One day, Sally and Anne were playing. Sally decided to put the marble in the box and went outside, where she could not see or hear anything from inside. A moment later, Anne decided to take the marble from the box and put it in the basket.
Now I ask you: When Sally comes back, where will she go look to take the marble, the box or the basket?
Easy, right? She hid it in the box and didn’t see Anne put it in the basket so she will go find it in the box, although she won’t find it there.
I’m sure you got the answer right because this isn’t a game for adults. It’s a game for kids. In psychology, it’s called a false-belief task.
Can children take the perspective of others?
The American Psychological Association defines a false-belief task as:
“A type of task […] in which children must infer that another person does not possess knowledge that they possess.”
