Chapter 11 - Theory of Mind

Key terms from the chapter

Autism

A developmental condition that affects behaviour.

Chronological Age (CA)

Your physical age from birth and onwards.

Cognitive Development

The development of behaviours related to the cognition - perception, attention, thinking, memory, etc.

Collectivist Societies

A group of individuals who emphasize “the group” and community.

Instinct

Either (a) something genetic in its origin or (b) a feeling or emotion based on no apparent origin.

Competence

Your underlying ability.

Conceptual Shift

A large qualitative change in an individual’s cognitive processing.

Cross-Cultural Study

Studies that look at cultural differences.

Deceptive Box Task

Having something unexpected within the box, asking what’s in the box, showing that unexpected item, then putting it back in and asking what was it the box before the object was showed.

Down’s Syndrome

A chromosome condition from an extra chromosome (21st). Impairment in physical growth and cognitive abilities.

Egocentric

Someone who finds it difficult to see from another individual’s point of view.

Intuitive Psychology

Looks at the awareness that people have of other’s beliefs, opinions, and essentially the mind. Good predictors of other’s reactions and behaviour.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

A score to compare intellectual ability to the average population’s ability.

Mental Age (MA)

Literally the name.

Metacognition

Similar to introspection - it’s being able to acknowledge one’s own mental state.

Modularity

The idea that (for example, behaviours) are in a result of modules in the brain - basically localization.

Performance Limitations

Essentially limitations in the task which affect the performance and does not accurately showcase their competence.

Representational Ability

The ability to form mental representations of objects or events.

Unexpected Transfer Test

A theory-of-mind task where an object - once an individual leaves the room - is moved unknowingly to the person who arrives back in and will look for the object.

Violation of Expectation (VoE)

A test for infants to measure their expectations.

They are shown two possibilities: a possible event and an impossible event - infants often look longer at the impossible events, demonstrating they have expectations.

Wing’s Triad of Impairments

Symptoms in those with Autism. Social Relationships, Communication, and Imagination.

False Belief

Incorrectly believing something to be the case when it is not.

Hindsight Bias

The bias that individual’s believe an event to be more predictable, only after that event has happened compared to before it happened.

Hunter-Gatherer Tribe

A tribe who hunts and gathers food and depends on each other for survival. Small communities.

Individualistic Societies

A group of individual’s who emphasize independence and uniqueness.