social cognition - theory of mind

Question 1

what is theory of mind?

Answer 1

• an individual’s ability to understand that other people have separate mental states (emotional, beliefs)
• and that others will see the world from a point of view that is different to theirs

Question 2

when does theory of mind develop?

Answer 2

• around 4+
• people with autism have difficulties developing ToM

Question 3

who conducted the Maxi task?

Answer 3

Wimmer and Perner

Question 4

outline the procedure of the Maxi task

Answer 4

• a test of false belief to assess when children acquire ToM
• 3-9 y/o told ‘the Maxi story’
  Maxi’s mum brought home chocolate, and he sees her put it in the blue cupboard. Maxi goes outside to play, mum uses some chocolate and moves it to the green cupboard. Maxi comes back inside to find the chocolate
• story acted out using dolls and matchboxes
• children asked: ‘which cupboard will Maxi look in?’

Question 5

outline the findings of the Maxi task

Answer 5

• nearly all 3 y/o said the wrong answer (green cupboard)
• some 4 y/o gave the correct answer (blue), but not all as ToM is still developing
• all 6 y/o gave the correct answer as they have developed ToM

Question 6

who conducted the Sally-Anne test?

Answer 6

Baron-Cohen as part of his research into autism
- adapated the Maxi task

Question 7

outline the procedure of the Sally-Anne test

Answer 7

• 3 groups of children aged 6-16
  20 autistic, 14 down syndrome, 27 ‘normal’ children
• shown scenario: Sally places her marble in a basket, Sally leaves the room, Anne transfers Sally’s marble into a box, Sally returns
• acted out using dolls
• children were asked: ‘where would Sally look for the marble?’

Question 8

outline the findings of the Sally-Anne test

Answer 8

child with ToM would say ‘Sally will look in the basket’ (based on her false belief)

• correct answer: autistic (20%), downs (80%), ‘normal’ (85%)
• autistic children cannot put themselves in Sally’s shoes, and think her understanding is the same as theirs

Question 9

how was the Sally-Anne test controlled?

Answer 9

using control questions

• naming question: it was confirmed that ppt’s knew the names of Sally and Anne and hadn’t confused them
• reality question: it was confirmed that ppt’s knew where the marble actually was

Question 10

outline ToM as an explanation for autism

Answer 10

• proposed by Baron-Cohen
• many autistic children lack ToM (Sally-Anne), which suggests that autism could have a biological basis
• lack of ToM could result in:

1. a desire for routines (to avoid difficult situations of not understanding what’s going on)
2. impaired social interaction (to avoid difficult situations of not understanding others)
3. impaired imagination (they cannot imagine other perspectives)

Question 11

S ToM: highly controlled + ELAB: doesn’t fully explain autism

Answer 11

ID: a strength of research into ToM is that it is highly controlled
Q: this means that the findings of the Sally-Anne test are reliable as a controlled methodology was used
EX: for example, ppt’s were matched on language, so intelligence was controlled. furthermore, control questions, such as memory questions to make sure ppt’s weren’t confused by the story, were used to control confounding variables
AN: therefore, this is a strength as it provides the study with high internal validity, as it ensures it is testing what it means to, making findings more accurate
ELAB: however, ToM cannot fully explain autism and cannot be used alone
EX: for example, 20% of autistic children passed the Sally-Anne test. Chevailler found that ToM deficits are evident in schizophrenia and some types of depression, meaning that it cannot be the sole cause of autism.
AN: this is a weakness as it means a lack of ToM isn’t a valid explanation for autism alone, reducing application of findings

Question 12

S ToM: universal + ELAB: not solely determined by biology

Answer 12

ID: a strength of ToM is that it is a universal phenomenon
Q: this means that ToM is evident in different cultures
EX: for example, Liu. compared 300 US and Chinese children and found a similar sequence of development, according to age
AN: this is a positive as it supports ToM as being a universal theory
ELAB: however, ToM may not be solely determined by biology
EX: for example, Liu found that the timing of developing ToM varied significantly, as much as 2 yrs
AN: this is a weakness of Baron-Cohen’s theory as he proposed ToM was biological, however it must have cultural aspects as timings varied due to different social environments

Question 13

W ToM: socially sensitive

Answer 13

ID: It can be argued that this research into theory of mind is socially sensitive and therefore unethical.
Q: this means, any research which could have negative implications for the participants, or those people represented in the study, could be considered to be socially sensitive.
EX: for example, research such as the Sally-Anne study suggests that people with autism lack theory of mind and therefore imply that these individuals are ‘inferior’, despite individuals with autism often having exceptional memory and outperforming typical people on the visual and auditory tasks.
AN: therefore, focusing on the deficits may result in other people in society being prejudiced against people with autism.