You may have seen in movies or real life when people act inappropriately, e.g. laugh when talking about death. Maybe, this isn't because they intend to be hurtful they may have a poor theory of mind.
We nurture our brains from childhood to adulthood to develop unique characteristics that comprise who we are. Some grow up understanding and courteous to others, while others focus on themselves and occasionally fail to empathise.
- We will start by understanding the theory of mind definition.
- Then we will explore what the theory of mind psychology research indicates and the theory of mind tests available.
- Moving on, we will delve into the link between ASD and the theory of mind and, finally, research on Baron Cohen's theory of mind: the Sally-Anne study, which provides evidence supporting the connection between the two.
Theory of Mind: Definition
The theory of mind, at its core, is an understanding that, as we have both complex thoughts and feelings, others around us do, too. They have knowledge and beliefs we may not share with them and lives lived outside of our own. In psychology, the theory of mind explores these ideas.
Theory of mind is the ability to understand other's mental states and how they may differ from ours.
Other people have different interpretations of events, and their emotions and desires are entirely their own. Research into the theory of mind typically revolves around a child's understanding of others as mental beings with different beliefs and desires from their own.
For example, a friend of yours may love a particular movie, but another may hate it.
As human beings, our experiences and those of others nurture us. We learn to put ourselves in other people's shoes and follow the patterns of social interaction.
According to Premack & Woodruff (1978), the theory of mind enables us to understand that other people have different beliefs and ways of thinking. As a result, we can predict others' mental states and behaviour while dealing with them on a daily social basis.
Problems with the theory of mind are linked to people with autism and social and communication difficulties.
Theory of Mind: Psychology
As children, we cannot understand other people think differently. We have not yet developed the theory of mind. It develops slowly in the course of our lives.
The theory of mind develops in children between the ages of 4 and 5 (some believe it begins at about 15 months). At this age, we begin to perceive the thoughts and feelings of others. We do this by paying attention to others around us, playing make-believe, empathising with others, and understanding that different wants and needs produce different behaviours (intentions).
According to Wellman (2004), the following sequence of steps describes how a child develops the theory of mind:
1. Wanting:
- Children begin to understand that everyone has different wants.
- People use different means to get what they want.
2. Ways of thinking:
- They begin to understand others may have different beliefs about the same thing.
- They determine the behaviour of people by what they think will happen.
3. The unseen needs more knowledge:
- Different people have different knowledge bases.
- If someone hasn't seen something, they need more knowledge to understand.
4. False beliefs:
- People can have beliefs that are different or outside of reality.
5. Concealed emotions:
- Children become aware that people can hide emotions.
- People may show different emotions from their actual feelings.
Theory of Mind: Test
Dennett (1978) explained the false belief task as a test allowing the researchers to adequately distinguish between a child's original belief about something (true) and their realisation that someone else might have a different view (false).
False belief tasks are one of the standard tests used to assess a child's development. Two kinds of false belief tests are used to understand how children develop the theory of mind from infancy into adulthood.
Theory of Mind Test 1: Smarties
False belief task one assesses the child's realisation that people can have false beliefs about events, and this is tested by an unanticipated event occurring that combats their original belief.
The researcher puts a box of sweets (smarties) in front of the children and asks them to guess what's inside (Wimmer, Leekman and Perner, 1987). The children reply that the box is full of sweets. However, when the children open the box, they see pencils.
Then the researcher asks the children the same question, but from another person's point of view: 'What will your friend Ana (who is outside the room) say is inside the box when she sees it?'
- The children under three answered, 'She will guess that there are pencils in the box.'
- The children, about four years old, answered correctly, 'She will guess there is candy in the box.'
Children four years and older reflect on the theory of mind as they recognise that others may have different opinions about a similar event.
Theory of Mind Test 2: Maxi Test – False Belief About Another's Belief
Wimmer and Perner (1983) performed the Maxi test. The researcher read a story to the children of Maxi and his mother.
Maxi put his chocolates in the blue cupboard before leaving the house to play. In the meantime, Maxi's mother used some of his chocolates from the blue cupboard to make a chocolate cake.
Later, the mother put the leftover chocolates in the green cupboard. The children were then asked: 'Where will Maxi look for his chocolates when he returns?'
The study found:
- Children under four answered that Maxi would look in the green cupboard.
- Children over four answered that Maxi would look in the blue cupboard.
The children were supposed to differentiate between their own beliefs (chocolates are in the green cupboard) and Maxi's (the chocolates are in the blue cupboard where he left them).
The children begin to show the development of the theory of mind when they realise that their belief (true) is different from Maxi's belief (false).
ASD and Theory of Mind
Is autism a negative consequence of an undeveloped theory of mind? Baron-Cohen et al. (1985) suggested that autism is caused by an absence or weak theory of mind or mentalising power (being able to extract and understand information about other people's goals and mind states) in children.
Autism is not a single condition but a category of various disorders, which is why it is called 'autistic spectrum disorder'.
People diagnosed with autism struggle with nonverbal communication, social skills and repetitive behaviours.
Wing and Gould (1979) characterised the symptoms of autism into three key sections:
Social and emotional impairment – passive response and abnormal eye contact
Language and communication – delayed response in conversations and repetitive speech
Impairment in the flexibility of thought – dependence on repetitive actions and unusual fixation with objects or their parts
| Table 1. The WIngs triad (1979) summary |
| ASD symptom | Characteristics |
| Language and communication | - Difficulty processing and retaining verbal info
- Struggle to understand jokes/ sarcasm
- Difficulty understanding literal interpretation
- Understanding social use of language is difficult, e.g. slang
- Trouble understanding body language, facial expressions and gestures
|
| Social and emotional | - Struggle to make and maintain friends
- Struggle to work in groups
- Struggle to manage unstructured/ unplanned events
|
| Flexibility of imagination | - Inflexible in coping with challenges in daily life
- Difficulty in understanding and showing empathy
|
Baron Cohen's Theory of Mind: The Sally-Anne Study
The Sally-Anne task is important for your exam and is similar to the Maxi test. Baron-Cohen (1985) tested and compared false-belief test results in three groups of children.
In the Baron-Cohen study, they studied three groups of children:
- Autistic children (average age of 12).
- Down Syndrome children (average age of 11).
- Neurotypical children (average age of four).
They used two dolls, Sally and Anne. Sally had a basket, Anne had a box, and the children named the dolls (naming question). Sally hid a marble in the basket and left the room.
Anne took the marble and placed it into her box. Sally then returned, and the children were asked: 'Where will Sally look for her marble?'.
The children would have to say 'the basket' to answer correctly, as Sally would still believe the marble was in her basket. She does not know Anne moved it. They were also asked: 'Where is the marble, really?' (reality questioning), and, 'Where was the marble at the start?'
All the children could give a name, answer the reality question, and correctly remember where the marble was at the start.
The results of the study are as follows:
| Condition | % scored on belief question |
| 'Typical' children | 80% |
| Down's Syndrome | 86% |
| Autism | 20% |
According to Castelli et al. (2002), people with autism have less active temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). These brain areas are linked to the working of the theory of mind. These children may have a flawed development of the theory of mind.
Children diagnosed with autism may only perform the false belief task when explicitly directed to it. Senju (2012) found that when children with autism are in their natural setting and not in a lab setting, they fail to perform the false belief attribution tasks.
Theory of Mind - Key takeaways
- The theory of mind definition is the ability to understand other's mental states and how they may differ from ours.
- Wellman's theory of mind psychology research (2004) suggests there are five stages of developing a theory of mind: wanting, ways of thinking, the unseen need for more knowledge, false beliefs, and concealed emotions.
- Theory of mind develops in children at four and five years old.
- Theory of mind tests typically investigates abilities to understand and recognise false belief.
- ASD and the theory of mind have been linked together. Specifically, in Baron Cohen's theory of mind study, children diagnosed with autism significantly scored lower in the belief question.
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