Is there a video deficit effect with theory of mind tasks?

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of the presentation mode on children's performance in a theory of mind (ToM) task. For this purpose, false belief understanding was examined in 94 children aged 3 to 5 years using a classical change-of-location task (Wimmer & Perner, 1983). Children were presented with the original story either in a video or a live condition. For the first time, a significant effect of presentation mode was demonstrated with a ToM task. Four-year-olds performed reliably better in the live than in the video condition. Most of the 3-year-olds answered incorrectly and most of the 5-year-olds correctly in both conditions. The observed effect of presentation mode is discussed against the backdrop of existing accounts of the so-called video deficit effect (VDE).