Abstract
The present study investigated whether chess experience and skill were predictive of advanced theory of mind (AToM), including its underlying factors, in middle childhood. Skills associated with AToM and its factors parallel skills and competencies required to play chess. Chess is a complex game that requires individuals to take the perspective of their opponent, to reason about and predict the thoughts and actions of their opponent, to think multiple moves ahead, to assess multiple moves or strategies at play at once, and to know chess rules and conduct. Participants were 45 elementary school children (27 boys, 18 girls; Mage = 8.57 years, SD = 1.06 years, age range: 6.00-10.50 years). Of these, 31 were chess players (23 boys, 8 girls; Mage = 8.64 years, SD = 1.18 years, age range: 6.00-10.50 years), and 14 had no chess experience (4 boys, 10 girls; Mage = 8.42 years, SD = 0.72 years, age range: 7.50-9.75 years). Chess experience was reported by children’s caregivers. AToM was assessed using a battery of 16 AToM tasks (Osterhaus et al., 2016). Chess skill was assessed using a 12-item set of chess puzzles. After controlling for age, chess players had significantly higher scores than non-chess players in overall AToM, and two AToM factors (social reasoning and recognizing faux pas). There was no significant difference between chess and non-chess players’ ability to reason about ambiguity. Among chess players, chess skill was not predictive of overall AToM or any AToM factors after controlling for age. This study contributes to the broader research on how participation in extracurricular activities could impact developmental outcomes. The findings suggest that playing chess at any skill level could benefit children’s AToM. Children do not necessarily need formal (and costly) chess instruction to benefit, and instead simply need to be provided a space and materials to learn and play chess together.