Date of Award
2005
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Bjorklund, David F.
Abstract
Bering and Bjorklund (2004) reported that (1) the knowledge that conscious mental states cease with the onset of death (discontinuity reasoning, "DR") emerges developmentally; and (2) DR for some states (emotions, desire, epistemic) is more difficult than others (psychobiological, perceptual). In the current study, preschool/kindergarteners, 2nd/3 rd graders, 5th/6th graders and adults viewed a puppet story in which an anthropomorphized juvenile mouse character was explicitly enriched with a variety of mental states prior to falling asleep; the results were highly similar to those of Bering and Bjorklund. Statistical comparison of these data with those of Bering and Bjorklund demonstrates that DR for emotions, desires and epistemic contents is equally difficult for both death and sleep, and suggests the influence of both simulation and implicit theoretical factors. An evolved adaptation designed to maintain vigilance in the presence of immobile agents, but that also likely underlies intuitive dualism (intentional persistence) is proposed.
Extent
73 p.
Recommended Citation
Cormier, Christopher A., "Children's understanding of sleep and death: Implications of intentional persistence for theory of mind and the theory theory/simulation debate" (2005). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009. 811.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_5/811
Identifier
FADT13279
Comments
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2005.|Charles E. Schmidt College of Science|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2005.