Validation of an unmoderated remote version of the Theory of Mind Scale

The Theory of Mind (ToM) scale developed by Wellman and Liu (2004) is a widely used instrument to assess children's ToM through seven items of increasing difficulty. This paper introduces and evaluates an unmoderated remote version of the scale, adapted for 3- to 6-year-old Norwegian children. In Study 1, a Norwegian version of the scale was developed and tested. Study 2 implemented an unmoderated remote version of the scale, and Study 3 examined its validity by testing age-related associations, scalability, as well as criterion and divergent validity. The findings revealed the expected age-related improvement in children's ToM performance, and the scale demonstrated acceptable scalability. However, based on the present findings, we were unable to fully validate the current version of the scale. Criterion validity was partially supported by a positive correlation between children's ToM and their social skills. Furthermore, a positive correlation between ToM and mastery motivation challenged the scale's divergent validity. However, this association likely reflects the influence of the remote testing modality, which favored more persistent and motivated participants. Additionally, test-retest reliability could not be assessed due to a low participation rate at T2. Future research should explore whether a shortened version of the ToM scale might be more suitable for unmoderated remote testing.