Cognition And Development - Theory Of Mind Flashcards
Define theory of mind
Our personal understanding of what other people are thinking and feeling. It is sometimes called ‘mind-reading’.
What is a false belief
The understanding that others may hold and act on mistaken (false) beliefs.
Define ‘autism spectrum disorder’
An umbrella term for a wide range of symptoms. All disorders on the spectrum share impairments to three main areas: empathy, social interaction and social imagination.
What is autism
A mental disorder which usually appears in early childhood and typically involves avoidance of social contact, abnormal language and so-called ‘stereotypic’ behaviours.
What was the procedure of meltzoff intentional reasoning in toddlers ?
Children of 18 months observed adults place beads into a jar.
In the experimental condition - adults appeared to struggle with this and dropped then beads.
In the control condition - adults placed the beads successfully in the jar.
What was the finding of meltzoff’s reasoning in toddlers study ?
In both conditions, the toddlers placed the beads in the jar; they dropped no more beads in the experimental condition. This suggests they were imitating what the adult INTENDED to do.
What does meltzoff intentional reasoning in toddlers conclusion
shows that toddlers aged about 18 months understand adult intentions when carrying out simple actions.
What was the procedure for Wimmer and Perner false belief task (1983)
3-4 year olds - told a story
Maxi left his chocolate in a blue cupboard in the kitchen -> goes to playground.
Maxi’s mother used some of the chocolate in her cooking -> placed the remainder in the green cupboard.
Children were asked where Maxi would look for his chocolate when he comes back from the playground.
What were the findings of Wimmer and perners false belief takes ?
Most 3-year olds incorrectly said that he would look in the green cupboard.
know that it is in the green cupboard, but do not realise that Maxi doesn’t know his mother moved it.
most 4-year olds correctly identified the blue cupboard.
What were the conclusions of immer and perners false belief task
ToM undergoes a shift and becomes more advanced at around four years.
What was sally - Anne false belief task by baron- cohen et al (1985)
A story about two dolls. Sally does not know that her marble has moved by Anne but the audience do. Where will she look for her ball – where she left it or where the audience know it is? This is used to test whether a child has a theory of mind.
What were the procedure used in the sally Anne studies ?
20 high functioning children diagnosed with ASD and control groups of 14 children with Down’s syndrome and 27 without a diagnosis were individually administered the Sally-Anne study.
What were the findings of baron- cohen et als sally Anne studies
85% of children in the control groups correctly identified where Sally would look for her marble.
20% of children in the ASD group correctly answered
What were the conclusions of sally Anne’s studies by baron-cohen et al
ASD involves a ToM deficit. Barhon-Cohen and his colleagues suggested that deficits in ToM might be a complete explanation for ASD.
What is contradiction to the idea that ASD can be explained by ToM deficits
Studies of older children and adults with asergers syndrome which is a type of ASD succeeded easily on false belief task
