Sally-Anne Test
Updated 2026-08-01
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Devised by Simon Baron-Cohen, Alan Leslie and Uta Frith, the Sally-Anne test assesses whether a child understands that another person can hold a belief that is false. A doll named Sally hides a marble and leaves, Anne moves it, and the child is asked where Sally will look. A child who answers with the original hiding place, knowing the marble has moved, credits Sally with a false belief. The qualifier is that the test measures one specific belief-attribution skill and depends on language and attention.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Perspective check: ask what the other person currently believes before you speak. - Knowledge gap: notice what they have not seen, heard or been told. - Message design: write for their model of the situation rather than for yours.
Anchor fast decisions
Understanding a false belief requires holding two representations at once, the actual state of the world and the other person's outdated model of it. A child who has developed theory of mind suppresses their own knowledge and answers from the other's information. Passing the task therefore marks the ability to represent another mind as separate from reality.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally%E2%80%93Anne_testverified
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