Interpretive theory of mind predicts greater willingness to seek out disagreement for learning

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Blakey, KH orcid iconORCID: 0000-0003-4347-6124 and Ronfard, S (2026) Interpretive theory of mind predicts greater willingness to seek out disagreement for learning. Child Development. ISSN 0009-3920

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Abstract

Though disagreement provides valuable chances to learn, people typically avoid it. This study tested whether understanding that people can hold different views because they have interpreted the same evidence differently predicts children's and adults’ interest in talking to someone with a different belief (children: 6 to 11 years; N = 97; 50 females, 47 males; diverse ethnicities; adults: N = 100; 49 females, 49 males, 1 gender-queer, 1 non-binary; diverse ethnicities). Data were collected between November 2024 and March 2025. Participants were first asked about their beliefs on different topics, then asked whether they wanted to talk to someone who agreed or disagreed with them to learn more. Interpretive theory of mind (iToM) was then measured using 2 paradigms assessing the ability to recognize that 2 people could interpret the same ambiguous stimuli differently. Higher iToM predicted greater willingness to seek out disagreement to increase learning. For children, this held across belief domains, whereas for adults it was only true for moral questions and ambiguous situations, not settled facts or personal preferences. The effect was stronger in children than adults when beliefs concerned preferences. These findings suggest that iToM may be required for understanding the epistemic value of disagreement.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: 1701 Psychology; 1702 Cognitive Sciences; Developmental & Child Psychology; 3904 Specialist studies in education; 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Psychology (from Sep 2019)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Date of acceptance: 20 August 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access: 8 September 2026
Date Deposited: 08 Sep 2026 12:45
Last Modified: 08 Sep 2026 12:45
DOI or ID number: 10.1093/chidev/aacag174
Editors: Southgate, V and Cooper, S
URI: https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/29343
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