Lecture 13

Question 1

Naïve psychology

 A commonsense understanding of o__ p__ and o__.

 Three concepts to understand human behavior:

• D__ (what people w__)
• B__ (what people e__)
• A__ (what people d__)

Example:
Your roommate got up in the middle of the night and opened the refrigerator: Why?

He was hungry (__).
He thought there was leftover pizza in the
refrigerator (__).
He opened the refrigerator (__).

Answer 1

other people, oneself

desires (want)
beliefs (expect)
actions(do)

desire
belief
action

Question 2

Three noteworthy properties of naïve psychological concepts.

Refer to invisible m__ s__ (e.g., d__)

Linked together in c__-e__ relations

Develop surprisingly e__ in life

Answer 2

mental states (desire)

cause-effect

early

Question 3

 Naïve psychology provides the foundation for theory of mind.

 Theory of Mind (TOM): an organized understanding of how m__ p__ (e.g., intentions, desires, beliefs, perceptions & emotions) affect b__.

Most _-year-olds understand connection between others’ desires and their actions.
-goldfish & broccoli study
(14 month old gave researcher their own preference but older child understood that their preference differed and gave researcher the broccoli they acted excited about).

Answer 3

mental processes, behavior

2

Question 4

BUT…most 2-year-olds don’t grasp that others’ b__ also influence b__.

Sam & the puppy example
– if Sam thinks his lost puppy is in one location, but the puppy is really in another, 2-year-olds think Sam will look in the puppy’s t__ location

by age _, most children have a basic understanding that desires and beliefs influence others’ behavior

Answer 4

beliefs, behavior

true

3

Question 5

BUT…young preschoolers still have trouble understanding the relationship between their beliefs and those of others

 false-belief problems = tasks that test a child’s understanding that other people will act in accord with their o__ beliefs even when the child knows that those beliefs are i__.

“Smarties” study (Gopnik & Astington, 1988)
preschoolers shown box labeled “Smarties”
asked what is inside the box: “Smarties!”
shown that pencils are really inside the box
then asked what another child would say was in the closed box…
5-year-olds: “__!”
3-year-olds: “__!”

Findings from the “Smarties” study are extremely robust, including across c__.
(Callaghan et al., 2005)

__% correct for 3-year-olds __% correct for 5-year-olds
BUT…3-year-olds can succeed at the “Smarties” task if they work with an adult to t__ another child

Answer 5

own, incorrect

smarties
pencils

cultures

14
85

trick

Question 6

Can much younger children show evidence of false-belief understanding if they only have to look?

 Onishi & Baillargeon (2005) – violation-of- expectation method
– 15-month-olds

15-month-olds appear sensitive to false beliefs when assessed using the v__- of-e__ method…

(watermelon slice moving when researcher isn’t looking and the researcher somehow still chooses the correct box).

Answer 6

violation-of-expectation

Question 7

Aspects or precursors of theory of mind present __ than once believed.

Does this mean there is a Theory of Mind Module? = brain mechanism devoted to understanding human beings

M__. Highly c__.

Answer 7

earlier

maybe, controversial