Chapter 17 - Theory of Mind

The self relfective thought

self reflective thought involves the ability to think about yourself as an object

• involves the ability to recognize oneself

can babies distinguish themselves from others

babies cannot

• they are ego centric

self reflection

a redirection of attentional focus from sensory events to internal thoughts, memories, feelings, and visceral (body) sensations

• default mode focuses on ourselves (thinking about ourselves)

• decreased activity in this part of the brain when we focus on something/someone else

agents

• moving objects in the world that can act on their own (ex. animals and other people)

• focus on goals, often an object that they seek out and may move toward

• we learn to identify when other’s behaviors are intentional (goal-related)

  • mimicry helps us to judge intentionally

mirror neurons

• neurons discovered in the premotor cortex that fire when an animal passively views someone else perform an action

• the more similar the species are, the larger the response

• respond more to goal-directed actions (biological or mechanical)

perspective-taking (mentalizing)

• ability to adopt the perspective of another person and distinguish it from one’s own

how do chimps mentalize

• subordinate chimps judge the perspective of dominant chimps to their advantage (and safety)

• they choose food rewards that they don’t think the dominant chimp can see

• they judge where they think the dominant chimp is looking

how do we extract info from the eyes

• evolutionary changes in the eye have facilitated info extraction

  • the sclera is dark in non-human primates but is white in hominids

  • enhances our ability to follow one’s faze and to distinguish between emotions

how gaze modulates attention

can shift attention in the same way as an arrow

• where our eyes are directed will cause a shift in our attention

share attention (join attention)

• allocation of processing resources toward an object or region of space cuef by another individual

  • when our gaze and attention is directed somewhere due to another individual alerting us

• eye gaze and body language together provide important social info

simulation

• using one’s own mental state as a model of what you believe other people must be thinking

theory of mind

• inferring unobservable mental states in others (what their thoughts behind their actions are)

• attributing others’ actions to their beliefs, goals, desires, and feelings, even if they don’t directly say them

• theory of mind is a skill

  • some people are just better at theory of mind than others

autism spectrum disorder

• neurodevelopmental disorder involving impairments in children’s social interactions, communication abilities, and executive functions (high-order cognition)

• difficulties with symbolic play (imagination)

• have specific theory-of-mind impairments

false beliefs test

• test where the observed individual believes in something that the perspective-taker knows to be untrue

• tests if the perspective taker will respond with the truth, or give the same response as the observed individual

location-change tasks, example of false beliefs test, and how it relates to theory of mind

• object is placed in one location and then switched to another location without the third partu knowing

• the participant must indicate where the third would look for the object

• younger kids (with less developed theory of mind) have more difficulty with this task

  • they would assume that the third party knew of the object’s location being switched

  • since they believe that everyone else believes in what they believe in

• those with autism spectrum disorder have an even more difficulty with this task

unexpected contents task

• an object is placed in a container and then replaced by another object without the third party knowing

• participant must indicate which object the third party thinks is in the container

types of false beliefs tests

• location change task

• unexpected contents task

• faux-paus detection task

• reading the mind in the eyes task

interventions with people who have autism for theory of mind

• high-functioning individuals with autism can use language to compensate for their inability to use theory of mind

• interventions that specifically target theory of mind are not helpful

  • using multiple social and executive functions are more helpful

imitation

human tendency to carefully observe others’ behaviors and do as they do

mimicry

automatic unconscious form of imitation

synchrony

when multiple people mutually mimic one another

• ex. body positions, gesture, tone of voice

automatic empathy

observing an emotion from someone else that is physically expressed, and then you subtly imitating that behavior and feeling that emotion

• ex. feeling sad when seeing someone crying

social projection

• when we assume that other’s perspectives are the same as our own

• result of the absence of perspective taking

people’s explanations of behavior

when people try to understand why somebody acted or felt a certain way