Chapter 11 + Barry: Theory of mind Flashcards
What is instinct?
Behavior that is genetic in its origin (sexual desire)
Or a feeling or emotion that has no basis in fact (trust)
What is intuitive psychology?
The awareness some people have regarding desires, motives and beliefs of others
What is theory of mind?
Ability to attribute or reason about mental states (beliefs, intents, desires) to oneself and to others
Understanding that others have mental states that are different from your own
How is theory of mind measured?
False belief tasks
- Unexpected transfer task (where will maxi look)
- Deceptive box task (candybox contains pencils)
Why do you need a theory of mind?
Being able to sense how someone else is feeling to enable offering the right help and support
If we can work out what happened to cause a psychological state in others, it offers a window to what we can’t see or sense
At what age do most children pass false belief tests?
Age 4
Some say it’s a sudden shift, others think it’s more gradual
Evidence points more to gradual development
What is conceptual shift?
A large qualitative change in an individual’s cognitive processes
This equips them with a representational theory of mind
(Wimmer&Perner)
What is metacognition? What is Gopnik’s point of view on this?
Knowledge of one’s state of mind. There is reflective access to one’s cognitive abilities thinking about how one is feeling/thinking
Understanding other minds by a process of simulation is implausible. Finding out what others think depends too much on reflection of own mind
–> Meta cognition is necessary
What is simulation theory?
Employing one’s own cognitive capacities and mechanisms to mentally model others’ cognitive processes (Harris)
What can improve ToM according to Harris?
Pretend play. Children engage in a process of mental simulation that allows them to make theoretical predictions
What is modularity?
The view that we have separate models for different abilities, such as understanding minds, that are innate. These models are refined at age 4 (Fodor)
Why would there be a possibility that children under age 4 be able to pass theory of mind tasks? Would this be a sign for gradual change in development ToM?
Performance limitations: performance may not reflect underlying competence
–> Language is an issue
Sign for gradual change
What is the hindsight bias?
Inclination to see events that have already happened as being more predictable than they were before they took place
E.g. you always knew your team would win in soccer just after your team has won
Adults sometimes don’t succeed false belief tests
Which position in the family is best for faster awareness of false beliefs?
Being the youngest child in the family, because you have older siblings.
If you have more siblings, this is even better.
This rule applies cross-culturally
What is the difference between collectivist and individualist subcultures concerning ToM? Why is this the case?
Collectivist: score high on measures of ToM and trusting others
Individualist: score lower on ToM
This is because collectivist cultures stress conformity, reliability and importance of the collective
Individualist stress importance of individuality and uniqueness
What is the relationship between number of siblings and IQ?
IQ score goes down with every child that is born on average. In large families this can be a big contrast
What is the downside of growing up in a large family according to Zajonc?
Clash of all perspectives.
Potential beneficial adult input on understanding others has to be divided, so each child wouldn’t receive the optimal level of tutoring about the mind
What is the best role for parents for helping to develop ToM in their kids?
Explaining behavior with references to psychological states (higher mind-mindedness)
What are the causes of autism?
- Genetic basis –> structural differences in brain
- Accidental injury/virus infection
What is Wing’s triad of impairments? Name an additional set of symptoms as well
Characterization of autism:
1. Social behavior –> misjudging social situations, inappropriate
2. Communication –> inappropriate
3. Imagination –> less pretend play, poor false belief tests
Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, repetitive interests, inflexibility, hyper/hypo reactivity to sensory input (at least two for ASD diagnosis)
–> body rocking, lining up toys
Name three underlying mechanisms of ASD. How do they interact?
- Theory of mind
- Central coherence =
- Focus on detail –> overstimulation
- Difficulty bringing details together to a coherent whole - Executive functioning =
- Control panel of the brain
- Attention, working memory, inhibition, flexibility, planning
It’s usually a combination of all three mechanisms, but they are different for every person
What is the ToM dimension? What is the difference between the two?
First order false beliefs = person in the video has different beliefs from yourself
Second order false beliefs = person has different beliefs from others in the video
What is the link between ASD and ToM?
They are associated, but it’s not a one-on-one relationship. ToM is one of the theories on underlying mechanisms
How do people with Down syndrome respond to false belief tasks and what does it show?
They usually pass the test of false belief. It shows that learning disabilities don’t account for difficulty that people with autism have with false belief tasks
What is evidence based assesment?
Scientifically grounded assessment that is necessary to guide the design and implementation of a prevention/intervention plan
What is the aim of a successful assessment?
Answering the referral question through comprehensive case conceptualization
What is case conceptualization?
Clear description of the types of experienced problems + potential causes
What is the cycle of psychological assessment? Name the 5 steps
1 Read background
2 Hypotheses
3 Methods: assessment battery
4 Results - interpretation
5 Conclusion, discussion, implications/limitations
What are the 5 ethic rules of confidentiality?
- Everything that is shared about the child is confidential
- Exceptions harm self/others or abuse
- Explain before assessment what you are doing
- Inform family about hypotheses and tests beforehand
- Report only relevant information
Which 5 measures are used in psychological assessment? What are they also called?
They’re called the assessment battery and they provide multiple measures and observations
- clinical interview
- behavioral observations
- cognitive tests (e.g. IQ)
- behavior rating scales (self/parent report)
- Laboratory tasks
What is the meta-systems approach?
Need to include assesment of the child’s psychological context, including family, cultural norms and values etc.
What does construct-centered mean?
Focus on all the factors that may also be present / may influence the child’s presentation and functioning
So no diagnostic or test centered approach!
What are the three psychometric qualities?
- Validity = is measured what is supposed to measured?
- Reliability = is the measurement consistent?
- Norms = typical behavior within a particular population
What are three principles of psychological assessment?
- Every decision made should be guided by the best available research
- Results from tests should only be used for making interpretations for which they have been authorized
- Assessment should be guided by hypothesis-testing approach = address referral question by developing possible hypotheses based on research
What are the 4 guidelines for assessment during or after treatment?
- Criteria by which treatment progress is evaluated should be measurable
- Only measures that have been proven sensitive to change can be taken into account
- Meaningful criteria for evaluating treatment
- Feasible assessment of treatment progress
