Theory of Mind in children Flashcards
What are the four key things children need to understand for a simple belief-desire psychology?
Ontology, causality, epistemology, and mental representation.
What is the “interactionist” view in the theory theory account of theory of mind development?
Theory of mind develops through interactions between the child’s existing concepts and new evidence from the environment.
What pattern do children follow in understanding ordinary vs. extraordinary minds?
They initially fail to attribute false beliefs to any minds, then attribute to all minds, and finally distinguish omniscient extraordinary minds from fallible ordinary minds.
What is the difference between how computers and humans perform tasks like chess or language translation?
Computers use brute-force computing and massive data mining, while humans develop theories to explain and understand.
How well do children and adults understand and apply the concept of omniscience?
Even older children and adults struggle to attribute complete omniscience in practice, defaulting to more limited abilities.
How did the religious vs. medical framing of a story influence children’s belief in the continuation of mental functions after death?
With a religious framing, more children of all ages affirmed the continuation of mental functions after death compared to a medical framing.
When do children begin to differentiate between the concepts of mind and brain?
Around 10-11 years old, children start to understand the brain is always active but the mind can be “on” or “off.”
At what age do children typically recognize the brain as physical and tangible while the mind is intangible?
By 8-9 years old and especially 10-11 years old, children know the brain is physical while the mind is nonphysical
In the brain transplant thought experiment, when do children understand that transplanting their brain would transfer their memories and identity?
Around second grade (age 7-8), children begin to grasp that their brain holds their personalized memories, thoughts, and identity.
What is the principle of a Hebbian synapse?
When two neurons are active simultaneously, the synaptic connection between them strengthens, facilitating learning.
What are the infancy-stage theory of mind capacities that form a foundation for later development?
Attention to perceivers, desires, and emotions.
What are the preschool-age theory of mind accomplishments?
Understanding false beliefs, differentiating appearance vs. reality, and taking others’ visual perspectives.
How do modular vs. theory-theory accounts differ in explaining theory of mind development?
Modular accounts propose an innate dedicated module, while theory-theory emphasizes evidence-based construction of concepts.
What role does executive function play in children’s social understanding?
Domain-general executive function skills are considered important for enabling children’s reasoning about minds.
What is the theory-theory account of how children develop a “theory of mind”?
The theory-theory perspective proposes that:
Children actively construct a causal-explanatory theory about the mental world
This theory is not innate but constructed through experience and interaction
The theory develops through conceptual changes as early concepts are revised based on new evidence.
It is domain-specific, focusing on understanding mental states and social behavior
