The link between preschoolers’ executive function and theory of mind and the role of epistemic states Anne Henning a,⇑ , Frank M. Spinath b , Gisa Aschersleben a a Developmental Psychology Unit, Saarland University, 66041 Saarbrücken, Germany b Differential Psychology and Psychological Diagnostics Unit, Saarland University, 66041 Saarbrücken, Germany article info Article history: Available online 30 November 2010 Keywords: Executive function Theory of mind Child temperament Dimensional change card sort Theory-of-mind scale EAS temperament inventory abstract The aim of this study was to assess the specific relation between 3- to 6-year-olds’ performance on a task measuring executive function (EF), the Dimensional Change Card Sort task (DCCS), and different developmental attainments in their theory of mind (ToM) by employing a battery of scaled ToM tasks that were comparable in task format and task demands. In addition, individual differences on the temperamental dimensions emotionality, activity, sociabil- ity, and shyness were assessed by parental rating. The main findings show that children’s (N = 195) performance on the DCCS related to their overall performance on the ToM scale but that this relation was specific to those ToM tasks that tap children’s understanding of epistemic states such as knowledge access, diverse beliefs, and false beliefs regarding content and location. The relation between children’s EF and overall ToM performance remained significant after controlling for age, sentence comprehension, child tempera- ment, and parental education. Individual differences in child activity showed consistent negative relation to EF and ToM abilities. The findings point to a differential involvement of the various EF components in reasoning about different mental concepts. Ó 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction The view of people as mental agents whose actions are causally mediated by their internal states such as intentions, emotions, and beliefs is commonly construed as a theory of mind (ToM). A mile- stone in children’s ToM development takes place at around 4 years of age, when children understand 0022-0965/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2010.10.006 ⇑ Corresponding author. Fax: +49 0 681 302 3871. E-mail address: a_henning@mx.uni-saarland.de (A. Henning). Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 108 (2011) 513–531 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Experimental Child Psychology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jecp