Theory of Mind (Selman and Autism)
Theory of Mind (TOM):
Theory of mind refers to the ability that each of us has to ‘mind read’ or have a personal theory of what other people know or are feeling or thinking
Different methods are used to study ‘TOM’ at different points in development
The emergence of simple ‘TOM’ can be seen in toddlers by means of intentional reasoning research
A more sophisticated level of ‘TOM’ can be assessed in 3-4 year olds using false belief task
False belief task:
These were developed in order to test whether children can understand that people can believe something that’s not true
Wimmer and Perner 1983 told 3 and 4-year-olds a story in which Max left his chocolate in a blue cupboard in the kitchen and then went to the playground
Later, his mother used some chocolate in her cooking and put it back in the green cupboard
The children were asked where Max would look for his chocolate when he gets back
Most 3 year olds incorrectly said he would look in the green cupboard
But most 4-year-olds correctly identify the blue cupboard
This suggests ‘TOM’ undergoes a shift and becomes more advanced at around 4 years old
Sally Ann studies:
The Sally Ann task is an example of a false belief task that has been used to assess theory of mind:
Sally puts her ball in a basket, While she is out of the room, Ann moves the ball to a box
The child sees all of this happening, then Sally comes back into the room to look for her ball; the child is asked where will Sally look
Children with a theory of mind will understand that Ann and Sally think differently, i.e. that Sally will look for the ball in the place that she put it (She doesn’t know what Ann knows)
Children with no theory of mind cannot understand that Sally and Ann think differently or that Sally thinks differently to themselves; if the child knows that the ball is now in the box, s/he will assume that everyone else sees the world like this too
What is Autism?
Three types of impairments characterise autism:
Difficulties with social interaction: Difficulties in forming relationships. People with autism often appear indifferent to other people. They often find small talk very difficult and take what people say very literally
Difficulties with verbal and non-verbal communication: Difficulties with basic communication. People with autism find it difficult to make eye contact, often use repetitive speech, they are anxious in social situations
Lack of imaginative play. Autistic children also often display a restricted range of activities and interests and obsessive tendencies. They like rigid routines and experience severe distress if routines are disrupted
The cause of autism is not known, but most research indicates that genetic factors are involved. Research also suggests that autism may be associated with a variety of conditions affecting brain development which occur before, during or very soon after birth
According to Simon Baron-Cohen, the core deficit of autism is the autistic person’s inability to use a theory of mind as people with autism cannot understand the mental stages of others. He argues that the social, communicative and imaginative impairments are necessary for normal development in each of these three areas
Lack of Theory of Mind or ‘Mind-Blindness’:
Baron Cohen (1997)
Theory of Mind in typical development:
Typically developing children develop what has been called ‘the theory of mind’ at around 4 years old, the same time as they usually start pretend play where one object can be used to symbolise another; holding a banana to the answer a telephone or riding on a broom like a horse
At this age, typically developing children are able to understand that other people have their own minds and think differently, i.e. they have their own intentions, motives and feelings
The ability to read minds or to make inferences about what other people believe to be the case in any given situation allows us to predict what they will do
Lacking this basic ability would make social interaction very difficult indeed, and the absence of a theory of mind would explain the core deficits of autism
Mind blindness in children with Autism:
Baron-Cohen thinks autistic children do not develop a theory of mind and, therefore, are unable to develop the complex skills of social interaction that other children develop with ease
Baron-Cohen used the term mind-blindness to explain what he meant about children with autism lacking a theory of mind, and this explains why they find other people’s behaviour confusing and unpredictable
There is a suggestion that autistic individuals are not able to represent to themselves the inner mental states of others and are therefore unable to think about how others might think or feel
Baron-Cohen (1985):
20 high-functioning children diagnosed as being ASD and a control group of 14 children with Down syndrome and 27 without a diagnosis were individually administered the Sally-Ann test
Findings:
85% of children in the control groups correctly identified where Sally would look for her Marble
However, only 4 of the children in the ASD group were able to answer it
This dramatic difference demonstrated that ASD involves a ‘TOM’ deficit
Asperger Syndrome:
Asperger syndrome is a type of ASD characterised by problems with empathy, social communication and imagination but normal language development
Studies of older children and adults with AS showed that this group succeeded easily on false belief tasks
However, Baron-Cohen and Colleges developed a more challenging task
The eye task involves reading complex emotions in pictures of faces just showing the eyes
They found that adults with AS struggled with the eyes test and so supported the idea that ‘TOM’ deficits might be a cause of ASD
Evaluation (A03):
Most research on the theory of mind uses the Sally Ann task however, some psychologists are critical of this
Bloom and German (2000) suggest it lacks validity because succeeding requires other cognitive abilities, such as memory. There is a lot of information for a 3-year-old to remember
Some studies have given ASD children visual aids to help them remember and found younger ASD children often succeed
Evaluation:
TOM research has been extremely useful in helping others understand the experiences of those on the Autistic spectrum
TOM and perspective-taking appear to be closely related cognitive abilities. The problem is that many of the methods that are used to study TOM could simply be measures of perspective taking
Although performance on TOM tasks distinguishes between children on the autistic spectrum from others, the same is true of perspective-taking tasks
The possibility that much of the research into TOM may be simple by measuring perspective-taking is a further challenge to the validity of TOM research
The idea that TOM is a direct result of TOM deficits is controversial, and more recent research has questioned the assumption that TOM problems are specific to ASD
Also, ASD has many other characteristics, including cognitive strengths such as superior visual attention and highly systematic reasoning. TOM cannot explain these characteristics
Explain two limitations of theory of mind as an explanation for autism (6 Marks):
Whilst theory of mind does explain some symptoms of autism quite well (most notably, why individuals with autism might struggle with social situations and communicating with others), it does not explain the full range of symptoms. For instance, other symptoms of autism include repetitive behaviour patterns and superior visual-attention skills.
Theory of mind offers no explanation for these latter symptoms and as such does not offer a full explanation of autism.
Another issue with this theory is that it does not explain how some children with autism demonstrate theory of mind when others don't.
In Baron-Cohen's (1983) study 20% of the autistic children were able to complete the task successfully. If it is the case that absence of theory of mind is the cause of autism, then how is this possible? Furthermore, other groups of children without autism have yet to develop theory of mind. For instance, Peterson et al (2005) found that children with deafness demonstrated a delay in developing theory of mind. The question then arises as to why this group of children did not develop autism as it is claimed that lacking theory of mind precedes autism.
A Sense of Self Develops during Childhood:
Having a sense of self includes things like:
Being able to distinguish between self and others, and referring to each with appropriate language
Having knowledge of our experiences, abilities, motivations, etc.
Having ideas about body image
Important stages during development include:
Existential self — from about three months old we learn to distinguish self from non-self and find out that we exist separately from other things. The development of object permanence (see page 166) may help this.
Categorical self - from about two years old we start to use language to describe ourselves, using culturally defined categories, e.g. age, male/female, tall/short, etc. We are also described by other people in this way, which can influence our idea of ourselves. For example, describing a child as 'clever' or 'naughty' could influence their self-esteem.
Identity crisis - Erikson (1968) claimed that during adolescence, when going through body changes and starting to make plans for the future, we may try out different roles until we find our true identity.
Having a sense of self also involves being able to see yourself as others see you.
This requires some understanding of the minds of others and being able to see things from their perspective.
Theory of Mind is about understanding other people’s minds:
Humans have a unique ability to cooperate and carry out complex interactions. It's thought this is possible because we have a theory of mind. This involves understanding that we and others have minds with knowledge, feelings, beliefs, motivations, intentions, etc. We can explain and predict other people's behaviour by making inferences about their mental states. This includes the knowledge that others may have false beliefs about the world.
Problems with ToM have been linked to the social and communication difficulties associated with autism.
According to evidence, most children develop ToM at around four years old. However, the kind of questions asked in Baron-Cohen et al's false belief task may be difficult for younger children to understand. It seems that three-year-old children can pass some versions of the test, so ToM may actually develop earlier.
There's also disagreement about the development of ToM. It may have an innate basis, but nurture and experience are also likely to be important in its development.
Understanding others involves perspective-taking:
One aspect of having a ToM is understanding that other people's perspectives can differ from your own. Children gradually become more skilful in their perspective-taking ability. Selman (1980) studied children's perspective-taking ability by analysing their responses to stories presenting dilemmas. For example:
Selman told the children a story about a girl who could rescue a friend's cat by climbing a tree. However, she'd promised her father that she wouldn't climb trees. Selman asked the children if she should be punished if she did climb the tree.
From the children's answers, Selman identified five levels of perspective-taking:
Undifferentiated and Egocentric — up to about six years of age, children can separate self and other, but in a physical sense only. They don't perceive any psychological differences, seeing the other person in the same way they see an object.
Differentiated and Subjective - from five to nine, children understand that other people have different perspectives because they have access to different information (i.e. know different things). However, only their own perspective is seen as important, and they can't take the perspective of the other person.
Second-Person and Reciprocal - Between ages seven and twelve, children can put themselves in someone else's shoes and view a situation from another's perspective. They also realise that other people can do the same.
Third-Person and Mutual - Between ten and fifteen years old, children develop the ability to take the perspective of a third impartial person who's viewing an interaction between other people.
In-Depth and Societal-Symbolic - From about age fourteen, children understand that third-party perspectives can be influenced by factors such as social or cultural values. They can see a situation from a variety of different perspectives, e.g. moral, legal, etc.
As children go through these stages, they become better able to understand that other people have different perspectives and can use information to put themselves in other people's shoes.
Selman's ideas about perspective-taking can have practical applications in education.
For example, using multicultural materials and having class discussions can expose children to different perspectives. This may help to promote their perspective-taking ability.