Theory of mind

Theory of mind

1. Intentional reasoning (toddlers)

   • Study provided evidence that toddlers (18 months) understand adult intentions when carrying out simple actions e.g. placing beads into a jar
   • Experimental condition, adults struggle and drop the beads, control condition, adults place the beads successfully into the jar
   • Both conditions, toddlers placed the beads into the jar, dropped no beads at all
   • Suggests children imitate what adults intend to do, young children have simple ToM

2. False belief tasks (children)

   • Tests if children can understand that people can believe something that isn't true
     • Study of 3 - 4 year old children
   • Boy left his chocolate in a blue cupboard and left the room, his mother moved the chocolate to the green cupboard, children were asked where the boy would look for his chocolate
   • 3 year olds incorrectly assumed the green cupboard but 4 year olds correctly identified the blue cupboard
   • Study suggests the ToM advances at age 4

3. Baron-Cohen's Sally-Anne studies (children)

   • Original Sally-Anne test - children told story of two dolls, Sally and Anne
     • Sally has a marble in her basket, Anne moves it to her box when Sally isn't looking, children work out where Sally will look for her marble, correct answer requires knowledge of false beliefs
   • Psychologists explore links between ToM deficits and ASD using false beliefs
   • 20 high-functioning children diagnosed with ASD and control groups of 14 Down's syndrome children and 27 undiagnosed children individually given the Sally-Anne test
     • 85% of control groups correctly answered but only 20% of ASD group did
     • This version of the Sally-Anne test demonstrates that ASD involves a ToM deficit, suggests an explanation of ASD

4. The Eyes Task (older children and adults)

   • Aspergers syndrome involves problems with empathy and communication but does not effect normal language development, studies show that people with Aspergers succeed easily at false belief tasks
   • A more challenging task was required to assess ToM in older children and adults
   • The Eyes Task involves reading complex emotions in photos of different people's eyes
   • Those with AS and high-functioning ASD struggled with The Eyes Task, supports the idea that ToM deficits may cause ASD