Advanced theory of mind predicts adolescents’ evaluation of source benevolence while reading

Abstract

Sourcing skills support online readers' assessment of relevance by establishing the credibility of a message. But many adolescents struggle to efficiently engage in the critical evaluation of the information they read online. This study investigated the relationship between adolescents’ Advanced Theory of Mind (AToM), their executive and verbal skills, and their abilities to assess specific dimensions of source reliability (i.e‥, source expertise, benevolence, and level of editorial control). Seventy-six French eighth graders completed tasks assessing their AToM, lexical quality, Working Memory (WM) updating, and sourcing abilities. The data showed a statistically significant relation between AToM and source benevolence assessment, after controlling for WM and lexical quality, suggesting that AToM plays a role in inferring the intentions of sources. However, no statistically significant relationship was found between AToM and other source attributes such as expertise or editorial control. Additionally, no association was observed between WM and AToM or sourcing. These findings highlight the importance of considering AToM in understanding adolescents' sourcing abilities and suggest the need for specific perspective-taking training to support their critical reading.