An important development for young children is the ability to understand how mental states influence actions. When children develop this understanding they are able to reason about people holding beliefs which do not correspond with reality. Such false belief understanding is presented in the story Harry the Dirty Dog, and it is important to understand this reasoning to access the humorous meanings intended in the story. In this study children were questioned about the false belief actions in the story Harry the Dirty Dog. More older children than younger children were able to demonstrate their understanding of false belief, suggesting that not all children are understanding the book in the manner assumed by most adults.
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