Chapter 11 + Barry: Theory of mind

Question 1

What is instinct?

Answer 1

Behavior that is genetic in its origin (sexual desire)

Or a feeling or emotion that has no basis in fact (trust)

Question 2

What is intuitive psychology?

Answer 2

The awareness some people have regarding desires, motives and beliefs of others

Question 3

What is theory of mind?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

How is theory of mind measured?

Answer 4

False belief tasks
- Unexpected transfer task (where will maxi look)
- Deceptive box task (candybox contains pencils)

Question 5

Why do you need a theory of mind?

Answer 5

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

Question 6

At what age do most children pass false belief tests?

Answer 6

Age 4

Some say it’s a sudden shift, others think it’s more gradual

Evidence points more to gradual development

Question 7

What is conceptual shift?

Answer 7

A large qualitative change in an individual’s cognitive processes
This equips them with a representational theory of mind
(Wimmer&Perner)

Question 8

What is metacognition? What is Gopnik’s point of view on this?

Answer 8

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

Question 9

What is simulation theory?

Answer 9

Employing one’s own cognitive capacities and mechanisms to mentally model others’ cognitive processes (Harris)

Question 10

What can improve ToM according to Harris?

Answer 10

Pretend play. Children engage in a process of mental simulation that allows them to make theoretical predictions

Question 11

What is modularity?

Answer 11

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)

Question 12

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?

Answer 12

Performance limitations: performance may not reflect underlying competence
–> Language is an issue

Sign for gradual change

Question 13

What is the hindsight bias?

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Which position in the family is best for faster awareness of false beliefs?

Answer 14

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

Question 15

What is the difference between collectivist and individualist subcultures concerning ToM? Why is this the case?

Answer 15

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

Question 16

What is the relationship between number of siblings and IQ?

Answer 16

IQ score goes down with every child that is born on average. In large families this can be a big contrast

Question 17

What is the downside of growing up in a large family according to Zajonc?

Answer 17

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

Question 18

What is the best role for parents for helping to develop ToM in their kids?

Answer 18

Explaining behavior with references to psychological states (higher mind-mindedness)

Question 19

What are the causes of autism?

Answer 19

• Genetic basis –> structural differences in brain
• Accidental injury/virus infection

Question 20

What is Wing’s triad of impairments? Name an additional set of symptoms as well

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Name three underlying mechanisms of ASD. How do they interact?

Answer 21

1. Theory of mind
2. Central coherence =
   - Focus on detail –> overstimulation
   - Difficulty bringing details together to a coherent whole
3. 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

Question 22

What is the ToM dimension? What is the difference between the two?

Answer 22

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

Question 23

What is the link between ASD and ToM?

Answer 23

They are associated, but it’s not a one-on-one relationship. ToM is one of the theories on underlying mechanisms

Question 24

How do people with Down syndrome respond to false belief tasks and what does it show?

Answer 24

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

Question 25

What is evidence based assesment?

Answer 25

Scientifically grounded assessment that is necessary to guide the design and implementation of a prevention/intervention plan

Question 26

What is the aim of a successful assessment?

Answer 26

Answering the referral question through comprehensive case conceptualization

Question 27

What is case conceptualization?

Answer 27

Clear description of the types of experienced problems + potential causes

Question 28

What is the cycle of psychological assessment? Name the 5 steps

Answer 28

1 Read background
2 Hypotheses
3 Methods: assessment battery
4 Results - interpretation
5 Conclusion, discussion, implications/limitations

Question 29

What are the 5 ethic rules of confidentiality?

Answer 29

1. Everything that is shared about the child is confidential
2. Exceptions harm self/others or abuse
3. Explain before assessment what you are doing
4. Inform family about hypotheses and tests beforehand
5. Report only relevant information

Question 30

Which 5 measures are used in psychological assessment? What are they also called?

Answer 30

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

Question 31

What is the meta-systems approach?

Answer 31

Need to include assesment of the child’s psychological context, including family, cultural norms and values etc.

Question 32

What does construct-centered mean?

Answer 32

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!

Question 33

What are the three psychometric qualities?

Answer 33

1. Validity = is measured what is supposed to measured?
2. Reliability = is the measurement consistent?
3. Norms = typical behavior within a particular population

Question 34

What are three principles of psychological assessment?

Answer 34

1. Every decision made should be guided by the best available research
2. Results from tests should only be used for making interpretations for which they have been authorized
3. Assessment should be guided by hypothesis-testing approach = address referral question by developing possible hypotheses based on research

Question 35

What are the 4 guidelines for assessment during or after treatment?

Answer 35

1. Criteria by which treatment progress is evaluated should be measurable
2. Only measures that have been proven sensitive to change can be taken into account
3. Meaningful criteria for evaluating treatment
4. Feasible assessment of treatment progress