Where theories of mind meet magic: The development of children's beliefs about wishing

in two studies, we probed children's beliefs about wishing. In Study 1, we gathered initial data on 50 3- to 6-year-old children's concepts of wishing and beliefs about its efficacy, with both a semistructured interview and a variety of tasks. Results revealed considerable knowledge about wishing in young children, along with an age-related decrease in beliefs about its ef ficacy. Parents were not found to encourage differently the beliefs of chil dren at different ages, nor were they found to begin actively discouraging such beliefs at any particular age. A moderate relation was found between e nvironmental supports for wishing and children's beliefs in its efficacy. I n Study 2, We continued to probe these issues and also address the nature o f the broader conceptual context in which children situate their beliefs ab out wishing. Participants were 92 3- to 6-year-old children. Results of thi s study suggest that children may reconcile beliefs in the efficacy of wish ing with knowledge about everyday mental-physical relations by situating th ese beliefs more within their emerging beliefs about magic than within thei r theories of mind.