Development of social cognition

Question 1

what is a theory of mind

Answer 1

an individual has a theory of mind if they impute mental states to themselves and others

allows us to understand and predict the actions of others

Question 2

understanding intentions and goals through development

Answer 2

• by 6 months, infants understand that people have goals
• 14-18 month old infants can discriminate between intentional and accidental actions
• by 18 months, infants imitated intended (but failed) goal

therefore, by 18 months, there is some understanding of human goals and intentions

Question 3

understanding desires through development

Answer 3

by 18 months, can appreciate that others have different desires:
- at 14 months, gave what they preferred
- at 18 months, gave what other preferred

Question 4

understanding perspectives: level 1 perspective taking

Answer 4

you and I see different things

• by 18 months, children will fit their perspective to yours
• e.g., crawling around a barrier to see what you are looking at

Question 5

understanding perspectives: level 2 perspective taking

Answer 5

you and I see the same thing in different ways

Question 6

what is first order and second order theory of mind

Answer 6

first order = attributing beliefs

second order = attributing beliefs about beliefs

Question 7

how do we test first order theory of mind

Answer 7

• observe and measure development of language referring to desires or beliefs
• desire terms (e.g., want, like) appear before belief terms (e.g., think, know, remember), suggesting developmental progression

Question 8

first order theory of mind - smarties task

Answer 8

child asked what is inside a box of smarties

pencils in the box, not smarties

child asked what was in the box before, child will say pencils

when asked what another child will think is in the box, child will say pencils

Question 9

theory of mind: second order

Answer 9

allows the understanding of jokes compared to lies, and sarcasm

appears around 6-8 years old