Wk10 Pre-recorded Part 2 Flashcards
What are proto-conversations?
Things like turn-taking
What sociocognitive skills can infants do by 1 year?
Engage in proto-conversations, gaze following, joint attention
What have violation of expectation studies found?
Infants look longer when a woman violates their expectations and reaches into the box that doesn’t contain a toy, indicating surprise. This suggests that 15-month olds seem to expect people to look where he/she last saw the object.
Are desires or beliefs easier to understand/interpret?
Desires are easier to understand because they can be interpreted from the person’s actions.
People are happy if desires are filled.
How are beliefs interpreted?
Interpreted in relation to events in the world. The beliefs can either be true or false.
At what age do people understand that people’s desires guide their actions?
12 months old
At what age do children understand that people’s desires guide their actions even if they are different to the child’s own desires?
18 months old
What is pretend play?
Any type of play where the child is pretending that one thing represents something else
What age is the peak of sociodramatic play?
4-7 years (takes place with peers or siblings)
This coincides with the emergence of children’s theory of mind
What 2 things do children need to do during pretend play?
Distinguish internal thoughts from reality
Process two representations simultaneously (reality and pretend)
How do adults in Western cultures support developmental progression of pretend play from 1 - 2.5 years old?
Object substitution (pretend that a banana is a telephone)
Pretend properties (pretend that a teddy bear can fly)
Imaginary objects (pretend tea party)
How do adults in Western cultures support developmental progression of pretend play from 2.5 - 3 years?
Sociodramatic play (role play examples, act out various scenarios e.g. when going to the doctors, pretending to be characters)
What do role play games allow children to do?
To imagine the perspective of others
What age can children deceive people?
3 years old
How do children deceive people?
Manipulate events to lead others into false beliefs
What study is used to test deceptive abilities?
Hidden treasure study
Engage in strategies such as wiping away footprints
What age do children start using belief language?
3/4 years old
They start saying ‘think, know, believe, I’ll pretend to be this’
Can use of belief language predict theory of mind abilities?
Yes.
Children might say ‘I’ll pretend to be the mummy’.
What experiment might be used to look at desired-based reasoning?
Food sharing experiment
What happens in the food sharing experiment?
The experimenter expresses delight or disgust to different foods. 18 month olds understand that a person’s desired food can differ from their own.
What are 2 explanations for theory of mind?
Empiricist explanations
Nativist explanations
What do empiricist explanations focus on?
Focus on how children learn about the mind (nurture)
How do empiricist explanations say theory of mind can develop?
Develops from experiences with other people
Develops alongside information processing abilities
What are 2 examples of how theory of mind can develop from socialising with other people?
Children with siblings do better on false belief tasks than only children.
When parents engage in more joint attention activities and conversations about mental states, children have superior ToM performance
Does ToM performance correlate with cognitive skills?
Yes, correlates with executive functioning and inhibition of behavioural inclinations. Correlates with information processing abilities.
What is the nativist explanation for theory of mind?
The ability to develop theory of mind is innate (nature) and necessary brain structures to support the ToM development are there from birth
What is TOMM?
Theory of mind module (brain structure) which matures over the first 5 years
Why do nativists believe ToM ability is innate?
Brain structures are there from birth. The naive psychological understanding at birth emerges rapidly at the first year, thus suggesting innateness.
What is the function of TOMM?
To produce representations of people’s beliefs and desires in order to interpret and explain their behaviour and allow the individual to engage in social interactions.
What is the problem with research on the nativist explanation of ToM?
Limited evidence from brain imaging studies are based on very small samples. Data is hard to interpret.
What have findings about autism found about theory of mind?
Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder have impaired performance on theory of mind tests. Supports the idea that TOMM is impaired in ASD.
However, ToM doesn’t explain other characteristics of ASD, thus it is a controversial theory.
How does children’s Theory of Mind develop from infancy onwards?
Through perceptually-based awareness of others, the development of desire-based reasoning, and through talking about beliefs
What childhood activities indicate abilities to think about real and false beliefs?
Pretend play and deception
What evidence is there for empiricist explanations for theory of mind development?
Correlational studies have found that theory of mind tests correlates with aspects of children’s social environment and their cognitive development
What evidence is there to support nativist explanations of a theory of mind module in the brain?
Limited evidence from brain imaging studies with small samples
