Relationship between Theory of Mind and Conflict Inhibitory Control in Japanese Children

Previous research has revealed that executive function (EF), particularly conflict inhibitory control (IC) and working memory (WM), contribute to the development of a theory of mind (ToM). Although most studies show that conflict IC, rather than WM, may influence ToM, Japanese studies indicate that WM, rather than conflict IC, might influence ToM. We propose that these inconsistent results could be attributed to using only one ToM task and an extended test session. Therefore, we re-examined the relationship between ToM and conflict IC in 50 3–5-yearold Japanese children using test batteries and shortening a test session. The results showed a significant correlation between the conflict IC and the ToM batteries after controlling for age and gender. This result is consistent with findings from other countries and contradicts those of previous Japanese studies. Our findings suggest that Japanese children may use conflict IC to perform ToM tasks as seen in other countries.