theory of mind Flashcards

1
Q

What is Premack and Woodruff’s definition of ToM?

A

‘imputing mental states to ourselves and others including purpose, intention, knowledge, beliefs and thinking’

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2
Q

What has been discovered about ToM in primates?

A

Sarah- 14 year old chimpanzee presented with a videotape of problems and solutions, was correct on 21/24 trials suggesting cognitive capacity

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3
Q

What is the false belief task?

A

A way to measure ToM e.g. Sally Anne task- imputing Sally’s mental state even though we know the marble has been moved.

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4
Q

What is Piaget’s theory of childhood development?

A

Four major stages:
- (1) sensorimotor intelligence (0-2 years)
- (2) preoperational thinking (2-7 years)
- (3) concrete operational thinking (7-12 years)
- (4) formal operational thinking (12+)

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5
Q

What do early studies suggest about the development of ToM?

A

Perner et al. 1987- smarties tube but pencils inside. children below 4- have difficulty in accessing their mental state

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6
Q

What does longitudinal data suggest about the development of ToM?

A

The number of false belief tasks passed increases gradually with age e.g. Amsterclaw and Wellman 2006. ToM seems to develop at around 3-5

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7
Q

What does biological evidence suggest about the development of ToM?

A

White matter maturation is associated with the emergence of ToM in early childhood (3-4)

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8
Q

What role can siblings play in the development of ToM?

A

Benefit- more opportunity to understand minds however can be a hinderance? Zajonc found that only children had higher IQs
Some research to suggest that ToM only helps w siblings if they are older

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9
Q

What role can parental influence have in the development of ToM?

A

Dunn et al- observations of mothers interacting w infants at 33 months found children of parents who described mental states were more likely to pass task

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