Theory of mind

Theory of mind

An understanding that other people have separate mental states (beliefs, emotions, intentions etc.) that are different from our own, and see the world from a different point of view

Our personal understanding of what other people are thinking and feeling

What does theory of mind allow us to do

To understand that others have unique beliefs and desires that are different from our own, enabling us to engage in daily social interactions as we interpret the mental states and infer the behaviour of those around us

The ability to see something from some else’s point of view, and understand what is happening in someone else’s mind

Autism/Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Umbrella term on a spectrum which share impairments in interaction, social communication, social imagination and social sensitivity

How might theory of mind be an explanation for autism?

1. Autistic children are delayed/have problems developing ToM

2. ‘Mindblindness’= struggle to read minds

3. Might lead to:

   • Difficulty predicting what someone might do

   • Difficulty reading facial expressions

   • Struggle to appreciate another person’s perspective

   • Not understand certain humour

4. Possibly due to an failure of innate theory of mind mechanism (ToMM’)

How is theory of mind assessed?

False Belief research- can children understand that people believe something untrue?

Maxi study

Wimmer and Perner

• Tell 3 and 4 year olds this story (acted out using matchsticks and dolls to make it more understandable):

• Maxi’s mum bought some chocolate to make a cake and Maxi saw her put it in the blue cupboard. He goes out to play

• Maxi’s mum uses some of the chocolate and puts it back in the green cupboard

• Maxi comes back and the children were asked ‘which cupboard will Maxi look in for the chocolate?’

• Findings:

  • Most 3 yr olds said green cupboard- but Maxi THINKS it’s in the blue cupboard (false belief)- ToM not present at 3

  • 4yr old- blue, correct answer

• Suggested that theory of mind and therefore social cognition undergoes a shift and becomes more advanced at age 4

Sally-Anne studies

Baron-Cohen

• Children told the story using 2 dolls, Sally and Anne

• 20 children with autism (mean age 12) and 27 non-autistic children (mean age 4)

• Told the story about Anne moving Sally’s ball whilst Sally is gone

• They children are then asked some control questions to make sure they understood (e.g. ‘where is the marble really?”)

• Then asked belief question: where does sally think the marble is?

• Autistic - 20% correct

• Non-autistic - 85% correct

• Impairments in ToM may explain ASD

Test used for adults with ASD

The eye test

Autistic adults tend to pass Sally-Anne test

Baren-Cohen considered whether high functioning adults on autistic spectrum may have ToM

The Eyes Task

Baron-Cohen

• participants are shown pictures of people’s eyes and asked to select one or two emotions that might be represented

• Adults with ASD- mean score of 16.3

• Non-autistic adults- mean score of 20.3

• Suggests that individuals with autism demonstrated more challenges with identifying facial expressions in other people’s eyes

AO3- issues with cause and effect

P- many issues with proving that ToM leads to autism

E- some autistic individuals (20%) do have ToM but are still autistic, if ToM is a central aspect of autism then all autistic people should lack one - reduces support for the theory

E- is ToM cause of effect?- it could be that being autistic (often delayed language skills, problems with communicating, lack of eye contact) may mean you don’t have the appropriate experiences (communicating and engaging with others) that lead to a ToM rather than an inherent lack of ToM causing poor social interaction

L- it may be True that autistic children are likely to have a less developed ToM but it is not accurate to claim that this cause autism

AO3- consistent with biological findings

P- appears to be consistent with biological findings in relation to autism

E- Baron-Cohen believed that ToM had a biological basis and that there was a ToM module (ToMM) supported by the fact that: ToM develops at a particular age (4) and it is likely to be absent in many people with autism

E- However, it could be argued that biology may not be the sole reason for ToM and that nurture plays a role.

Perner et al- ToM appears earlier in children from large families, with older siblings as they are challenged to think about the feelings of others when resolving conflicts.

L- challenges Baron-Cohen that ToM is biological if it can be learnt- combination of biology and social environment (nature and nurture)?

AO3- application

P- major applications in understanding autism

E- it is widely agreed that people with autism have more difficult than others on age appropriate ToM tests - ToM research has been extremely useful in helping us understand the different experiences of those in the autistic spectrum. This has lead to the development of social skills training - and effective interventions working on developing a theory of mind (Social skills training)

E- However not all autistic people lack ToM and causation not clear. In addition ToM only explains deficits, cannot explain islets of ability/special talents demonstrated by some autistic people, e.g. highly systematic reasoning or superior visual attention.

L- not a complete explanation of autism- reduces support