Social cognition

Question 1

Theory of Mind

and mental states

Answer 1

• the ability to think about mental states in ourselves and others
• understanding that mental states influence behavior

• mental states: beliefs, desires, intentions, perceptions
• rooted in egocentrism (Piaget)

Question 2

3 conditions for having a ToM

Answer 2

must understand that…
1. people have mental states
2. others’ mental states can differ from your own
3. mental states guide behavior regardless of whether they are accurate (e.g. false beliefs)

Question 3

2 tasks used to assess false beliefs

Answer 3

1. Sally-Anne task (i.e. unexpected transfer task)
2. smarties task

children under age 4 fail on traditional false beliefs tasks; they answer based on reality

Question 4

Changes that occur between ages 3-5

ToM development

Answer 4

• changes in conceptual abilities to reason about mental states (e.g. theory theory, modular theory)
• changes in processing (e.g. tasks may be too difficult)

Question 5

Theory theory

ToM development

Answer 5

changes in ways of thinking about mental states (i.e. qualitative shift in theories about ToM)

• change in conceptual ability to reason about mental states
• based on Piagetian idea of children as scientists

Question 6

Modular theory

ToM development

Answer 6

brain maturation
module in the brain that becomes increasingly activated and advanced, allowing us to conceptualize mental states

Question 7

Changes in processing

ToM development

Answer 7

younger children (< age 4) may not be able to pass FB tasks because they have difficulty with the processing demands of the tasks

e.g. language, prediction, memory abilities; executive function and inhibition (having to keep track of both reality and a person’s perception of reality)

Question 8

Evidence for ToM earlier in development

changes in processing

Answer 8

• Repacholi & Gopnik: 18-month-olds give the researcher broccolis despite mismatch with their own preference (crackers)
• Onishi & Baillargeon: 15-18-month-olds look longer at suprising reach or violation of expectation (non-verbal false beliefs task)

Question 9

Curse of knowledge

changes in processing

Answer 9

having to inhibit your knowledge of reality (e.g. kid knows where the toy is in the Sally-Anne task)

difficult to inhibit knowledge when you know something to be true

Question 10

Factors causing individual differences in ToM

Answer 10

1. # of siblings
2. pretend play
3. parenting (e.g. discussing emotions, mental states)
4. language (e.g. bilingualism)
5. autism (often struggles!)

more siblings and pretend play = more practice stepping into others’ perspectives