Theory of the Mind Flashcards
theory of the mind
human capacity to understand minds, a capacity that is made of a collection of concepts (agent, intentionality) and processes(goal detection…)
role of the theory of the mind
frames and interprets perceptions of human behaviour
- perceptions of agents who can act intentionally and who have desires, beliefs, and other mental states that guide their actions
- humans need to understand minds in order to engage in complex interactions that social communities require
social interactions that rely of theory of the mind
- teaching
- learning
- figuring out social standing
- sharing experiences
- collaborating on a task
autism and theory of the mind
hard for them to process “people Information”
- more analytical
toolbox
components used to recognize and understand mental states
agent category
allows to identify moving objects in world that can act on their own
indicators of being an agent
being self propelled, having eyes, reacting systematically to the interaction partners behaviour, such as following gaze or imitating
recognizing goals
build on agent category
- because agents directed toward goal objects
- see systematic and predictable relationship bte agent and pursuing an object
intentionality
quality of an agents performing a behaviour intentionally
- with skill and awareness and executing an intention
imitation
tendency to carefully observe others and do as they do
mimicry
copying other w/o awareness
synchrony
mutual mimicry
mirror neuron
neurones in monkey brains that fire when both monkeys perform a certain action and when it perceives other agent performing that action
- human imitation is selective
- only use what’s relevant
automatic empathy
social perceiver unwittingly taking on the internal state of another person, usually because of mimicking the persons expressive behaviour and thereby feeling the expressed emotion
joint attention
two people attending to the same object and being aware that they are both attending to ti
visual perspective taking
perceiving something from another persons spatial vantage point
* more generally to effortful mental state interference
simulation
process of representing the other persons mental state
projection
social perceivers assumption that the other person wants know, or feels the same as the perceiver
* social projection
explicit mental state interference
capacity of integrating multiple lines of information into a mental state interference develops steadily within first few years of life
false belief test
experimental procedure that assesses whether a perceiver recognizes that another person has false belief - a belief that contradicts reality
people’s explanation of behaviour
a persons natural explanation for why somebody did something or felt something
