Lecture 4- Theory of Mind

Question 1

what is theory of mind

Answer 1

the capacity we have to predict and explain other peoples behaviours in terms of their internal states of mind
e.g. if you desire something, you look for it in a place where your beliefs make you think but if you do not find it, your reaction may be of surprise

Question 2

origins of ToM-premack + woodruff 1978

2 examples

Answer 2

1- food is hanging off a branch at a height that cannot be reached by stretching
in the cage there are several objects, one is a stool which can be used to reach the food
2- a human tries to get out of a locked cage, the key is outside the cage that cannot be reached
in the cage there are several objects, one is a wooden stick which can be used to reach the key
there is understanding of the human’s needs and beliefs- they have ToM

Question 3

critical question

Answer 3

how do we know people are understanding the needs and beliefs of others rather than just coming up with a solution

Question 4

what would be an appropriate test to assess an understanding of other people’s mental states?

Answer 4

the child is required to attribute a belief to another person which is different to their own.
the participant cannot predict the correct response on the basis of what they know to be true
if the child can predict what another person will do on the basis of a false belief, we know that they are not just reading the answer from scenario

Question 5

false belief task
sally ann
wimmer+perner 1983
baren-cohen, leslie+frith 1985

Answer 5

sally puts marble in basket, goes outside to play, ann moves marble to box, sally comes back
then the child is asked “where does sally think the marble is?”
sally has false belief about the location because she has not seen ann move it- their answer should be basket
the child has to ignore what they know

Question 6

false belief task
sally ann
results

Answer 6

4-4.5 years of age, children give the correct answer and hence have ToM
2 years old answer where the marble is and hence do not have ToM

Question 7

false belief task
sally ann
modification
4 years old control question

Answer 7

asked why does sally think the object is in here?
because sally hasn’t seen it move
gives correct answer for correct reason

Question 8

false belief task
sally ann
modification
siegal +beattie 1991

Answer 8

modified by asking the child “where will sally look first of all” instead on “where will sally look for her marble”
the control group will be asked the same original question
39% of 3yr olds passed original whereas 70+% passed modified

Question 9

false belief task

appearance reality task

Answer 9

a child is shown an object and is asked “what does it look like”
3yr old= a stone
the child is given the opportunity to play with the object + to verify it is soft and light
they are then asked “so, what is it really”
3 yr old= its a sponge
the child is then asked “what does it look like”
3 yr old= a sponge; should answer a stone

Question 10

false belief task
appearance reality task
conclusion

Answer 10

3yr olds are unable to capture the difference between appearance and reality
they are unable to attribute a thought about the object independent of what the object is

Question 11

false belief task

deceptive box task

Answer 11

a child is show a box of smarties and is asked “what is in the box”
3 yr old=smarties
the experimenter opens the box and shows the child there is a pencil inside, the child is then asked “what is in the box”
3 yr old=pencil
the child is then asked “ what do you think another child would think is in the box?2
3 yr old=pencil; another child will think a pencil is in the box

Question 12

false belief task
deceptive box task
conclusion

Answer 12

3yr olds are unable to capture the difference between appearance and reality

Question 13

false belief task
deceptive box task
modification
mitchell+locohee 1991

Answer 13

boosted the idea of smarties being in the box by getting children to post a picture of a smarties box
20% of children passed original
60% passed modification

Question 14

Leslie 1987/1988

suggested

Answer 14

that as beliefs are represented in the mind, we can understand that something represent others and hence believe some things can misrepresent others

Question 15

false photograph task

zaitchik 1990

Answer 15

involves representation but not mental states
the child is shown how a polaroid camera works and takes a picture of a cat sitting on a chair.
the researcher moves the cat to the bed and the child gets asked “where is the cat in the picture?”
3 yr olds fail=say bed

Question 16

false photograph task
zaitchik 1990
conclusion

Answer 16

infants develop the concept of representation between 4-5 yrs old
before this they are unable to understand that beliefs can go out of date

Question 17

pretend play

leslie 1987+1988

Answer 17

by 18-24 months babies engage in pretend play, they have the ability to form a representation in their minds that is independent of reality
they can also attribute this to another person
e.g pretend a banana is a phone

Question 18

alternative views

bloom and german 2000

Answer 18

young children do understand false belief tasks but cannot demonstrate that they do which means they make mistakes

Question 19

onishi+ baillargeon 2005
children do understand false beliefs using VoE paradigm
children appeal to mental states-goals, perceptions and beliefs to explain behaviours
watermelon
familiarisation

Answer 19

an actor plays with a watermelon and hides it in the green box, after a short delay, she looks for the watermelon in the green box

Question 20

onishi+ baillargeon 2005
children do understand false beliefs using VoE paradigm
children appeal to mental states-goals, perceptions and beliefs to explain behaviours
watermelon
belief induction task

Answer 20

the infant witnesses a chance that results in the actor holding a true or false belief about the toys location

Question 21

onishi+ baillargeon 2005
children do understand false beliefs using VoE paradigm
children appeal to mental states-goals, perceptions and beliefs to explain behaviours
watermelon
4 versions

Answer 21

TB green condition: the actor and infant watch as the blue box moved halfway towards the green and moved back, the toy remained in the green box
TB blue condition: the actor and infant watched the toy move from the green to the blue- actor finds in blue box
FB green condition: only the infant saw the toy move from the green to blue so actor still believes it is in green box- chooses green
FB blue condition: the actor and infant watch the toy move from green to blue but only the infant saw it move back to green- chooses blue

Question 22

onishi+ baillargeon 2005
children do understand false beliefs using VoE paradigm
children appeal to mental states-goals, perceptions and beliefs to explain behaviours
watermelon
results

Answer 22

infants expect the actor to search on the basis of their belief hence meaning the 15 month old already possess a theory of mind
others act on the basis of their beliefs and these may or may not mirror reality

Question 23

ToM in autistic children

sally ann task

Answer 23

20 children with autism-only a handful passed
20 children with down syndrome-majority passed
20 typically developing 4 yr olds-majority passed

Question 24

ToM in autistic children
sally ann task
design issues

Answer 24

participants not well matched on chronological age

participants matched on verbal abilities using a poor assessment tool

Question 25

ToM in autistic children
picture sequencing task
participants

Answer 25

21 children with autism
15 children with downs syndrome
27 typically developing 4 yr olds

Question 26

ToM in autistic children
picture sequencing task
procedure

Answer 26

children given the first card and 3 random and asked to make a story
children are then shown the correct order and asked to describe the story
3;
mechanical-no interpretation of mental state
behavioural-use mental state but dont show understanding of it
intentional-use mental state language

Question 27

ToM in autistic children
picture sequencing task
mechanical

Answer 27

boy kicks a ball into the water off a rock

Question 28

ToM in autistic children
picture sequencing task
behavioural

Answer 28

girl steals boy ice cream

boy cries

Question 29

ToM in autistic children
picture sequencing task
intentional

Answer 29

girl puts teddy down to pick up flower and boy steals teddy, girl acts surprised

Question 30

ToM in autistic children
picture sequencing task
results

Answer 30

autistic got almost all correct for mechanical and behavioural but performance fell for intentional.
they did not use any mental state language whereas downs and typically developed children did

Question 31

leekam + perner 1991
false photograph task
procedure

Answer 31

3-4 yr olds and children with ASD matched on IQ, replicated original procedure

Question 32

leekam + perner 1991
false photograph task
results

Answer 32

3 yr olds found the task as hard as the original
ASD could complete the false photograph task but failed the false belief task
ability to form mental representations is independent from the ability to form false beliefs

Question 33

happe 1994+1995

second order false belief task

Answer 33

where does mary think that john thinks the chocolate is
TD- pass around 6-7 yrs old
ASD dont pass until much later
autistic children may use other strategies to pass