4] theory of the mind Mindreading= the capacity of ordinary people for mental state attribution, prediction and explanation Development= · Phylogeny- development across species · Ontogeny- development across individual lifetime Premack and woodruff: does chimpanzee have a theory of mind? - theory of mind = impute (attribute) mental states to self and others - mental states: beliefs, desires, knowledge, thoughts, mental images, emotions, moods, perceptions, sensations - theory because state aren't directly observable but can be used to predict behaviour Whats so special about theory of mind: . predict & explain behaviour using abstract concepts= MIND DESIRE THINK · Being able to connect with other people · Might be foundation of empathy, communication, deception, morality Theory of mind is tested via false belief- - Functionally FB: communication, deception - Methodologically: who has a theory of mind True belief- accurate, current representation of reality False belief- not an accurate, current representation of reality Test of false belief= has to reveal something profound and be simple enough for young children to understand Unexpected transfer test= Wimmer and Perner . In the unexpected transfer task the child is presented with the following scenario: Maxi puts his chocolate in the kitchen cupboard and leaves the room to play. While he is away (and cannot see) his mother moves the chocolate from the cupboard to the drawer. Maxi returns. Where will he look for his chocolate, in the drawer or in the cupboard? In this task children are also asked a control question to ensure that they remember the original location of the chocolate. Deceptive box test= Perner et al- test of someone elses false belief · What is inside this tube? · What is in it? · What will your friend xxx say is inside? . In the deceptive box task children are shown a Smarties tube that contains pencils rather than Smarties. Children are asked what another child, who has not seen inside the Smarties tube, will think is inside. Three-year-old children almost always fail theory of mind tasks. In the Maxi task they say that Maxi will look in the new location for his chocolate rather than the original location in which he placed it and where he would expect it to be.
Test of your own false belief= Gopnik and Astington · When you first saw this tube, before we opened it, what did you think was inside? Are we sure that 3 year olds don't have a theory of mind= - Lack of positive evidence= theres no test for not having a theory of mind - Is it the way we are asking - Is it theory of mind or language comprehension Understanding the mind= . Meta-analysis Wellman et al (2001): The truth about false belief - 1000+ of studies show that 3 years old fail and 4 year old pass FB tests · Stage in development: Children undergo a radical conceptual shift at 4 years of age (Perner, Gopnik); acquire a theory of mind · Gradual development: Children get