Podcast
Questions and Answers
What behavior did 9-, 12-, and 18-month-olds exhibit in response to an unwilling adult compared to an unable adult?
What behavior did 9-, 12-, and 18-month-olds exhibit in response to an unwilling adult compared to an unable adult?
What aspect of goal-directed actions does unsuccessful attempts help to explore?
What aspect of goal-directed actions does unsuccessful attempts help to explore?
How do infants adapt their responses according to the intentions of the adult?
How do infants adapt their responses according to the intentions of the adult?
What common assumption do children make about the preferences of others?
What common assumption do children make about the preferences of others?
Signup and view all the answers
In the context of the younger children’s understanding of desires, what was the adult's reaction to broccoli and goldfish crackers?
In the context of the younger children’s understanding of desires, what was the adult's reaction to broccoli and goldfish crackers?
Signup and view all the answers
What was the primary difference between the unwilling adult and the unable adult as observed in the studies?
What was the primary difference between the unwilling adult and the unable adult as observed in the studies?
Signup and view all the answers
Which age groups did Behne, Carpenter, Call, & Tomasello (2005) study to observe reactions to adult intentions?
Which age groups did Behne, Carpenter, Call, & Tomasello (2005) study to observe reactions to adult intentions?
Signup and view all the answers
What type of actions does the understanding of others' intentions primarily relate to in infant development?
What type of actions does the understanding of others' intentions primarily relate to in infant development?
Signup and view all the answers
What does the False-belief (FB) condition involve in the study by Buttelmann, Carpenter, & Tomasello?
What does the False-belief (FB) condition involve in the study by Buttelmann, Carpenter, & Tomasello?
Signup and view all the answers
In the True-belief (TB) condition, what do the children believe about the adult's knowledge?
In the True-belief (TB) condition, what do the children believe about the adult's knowledge?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the outcome for children in the True Belief Condition when the actor thinks the toy is in the yellow box?
What is the outcome for children in the True Belief Condition when the actor thinks the toy is in the yellow box?
Signup and view all the answers
What method was used to assess implicit theory of mind (ToM) in Onishi & Baillergeon's study?
What method was used to assess implicit theory of mind (ToM) in Onishi & Baillergeon's study?
Signup and view all the answers
How did children react to the false belief condition in Onishi & Baillergeon's study?
How did children react to the false belief condition in Onishi & Baillergeon's study?
Signup and view all the answers
What conclusion was drawn regarding false-belief tasks and children's performance?
What conclusion was drawn regarding false-belief tasks and children's performance?
Signup and view all the answers
What behavior do children exhibit towards the adult in the False-belief (FB) condition?
What behavior do children exhibit towards the adult in the False-belief (FB) condition?
Signup and view all the answers
What happens in both FB and TB conditions with respect to the adult's action?
What happens in both FB and TB conditions with respect to the adult's action?
Signup and view all the answers
At what age do children start to understand that people might have different likes and dislikes?
At what age do children start to understand that people might have different likes and dislikes?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary focus of false-belief tasks in assessing children's understanding?
What is the primary focus of false-belief tasks in assessing children's understanding?
Signup and view all the answers
What do 12-month-old children do when an experimenter shows excitement at an object hidden behind a barrier?
What do 12-month-old children do when an experimenter shows excitement at an object hidden behind a barrier?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following best describes a false belief?
Which of the following best describes a false belief?
Signup and view all the answers
What significant understanding does a child's recognition of false beliefs provide evidence for?
What significant understanding does a child's recognition of false beliefs provide evidence for?
Signup and view all the answers
When 24-month-old children are asked to help an adult find a sought object, what does their choice indicate?
When 24-month-old children are asked to help an adult find a sought object, what does their choice indicate?
Signup and view all the answers
In the context of early childhood psychology, what do the terms perception and knowledge ‘access’ refer to?
In the context of early childhood psychology, what do the terms perception and knowledge ‘access’ refer to?
Signup and view all the answers
What significant developmental change occurs between the ages of 3 to 5?
What significant developmental change occurs between the ages of 3 to 5?
Signup and view all the answers
Which behavior is indicative of a child's understanding of their own preferences in relation to another's?
Which behavior is indicative of a child's understanding of their own preferences in relation to another's?
Signup and view all the answers
What factors correlate with a child's success in false belief tasks?
What factors correlate with a child's success in false belief tasks?
Signup and view all the answers
How does the presence of siblings affect a child's performance in false belief tasks?
How does the presence of siblings affect a child's performance in false belief tasks?
Signup and view all the answers
In cultures where discussing mental states is taboo, how might this affect children's understanding of mentalism?
In cultures where discussing mental states is taboo, how might this affect children's understanding of mentalism?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following is a factor that predicts success in later false belief tasks?
Which of the following is a factor that predicts success in later false belief tasks?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the main focus of the unexpected location task?
What is the main focus of the unexpected location task?
Signup and view all the answers
What do children's spontaneous language examples indicate about their understanding of beliefs?
What do children's spontaneous language examples indicate about their understanding of beliefs?
Signup and view all the answers
At what age do children typically begin to understand that another person can have a false belief?
At what age do children typically begin to understand that another person can have a false belief?
Signup and view all the answers
What is suggested about false-belief tasks and cultural context?
What is suggested about false-belief tasks and cultural context?
Signup and view all the answers
What role does pretend play have in a child's development of theory of mind (ToM)?
What role does pretend play have in a child's development of theory of mind (ToM)?
Signup and view all the answers
In the unexpected contents task, how do 3-year-olds typically respond when asked what another person will think is inside a deceptive box?
In the unexpected contents task, how do 3-year-olds typically respond when asked what another person will think is inside a deceptive box?
Signup and view all the answers
What does the unexpected location task highlight about 3-year-olds' cognitive development?
What does the unexpected location task highlight about 3-year-olds' cognitive development?
Signup and view all the answers
Why do 4- to 5-year-olds typically answer 'the cupboard' in the unexpected location task?
Why do 4- to 5-year-olds typically answer 'the cupboard' in the unexpected location task?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following statements correctly describes the behavior of 3-year-olds in the unexpected contents task?
Which of the following statements correctly describes the behavior of 3-year-olds in the unexpected contents task?
Signup and view all the answers
What common misconception do 3-year-olds display in the unexpected contents task?
What common misconception do 3-year-olds display in the unexpected contents task?
Signup and view all the answers
How do the findings from false belief tasks contribute to our understanding of child development?
How do the findings from false belief tasks contribute to our understanding of child development?
Signup and view all the answers
What does inhibitory control refer to in the context of executive function?
What does inhibitory control refer to in the context of executive function?
Signup and view all the answers
How do false belief tasks relate to a child's cognitive development?
How do false belief tasks relate to a child's cognitive development?
Signup and view all the answers
At what age do children typically start to show improvements in executive control related to inhibitory tasks?
At what age do children typically start to show improvements in executive control related to inhibitory tasks?
Signup and view all the answers
What happens to children's performance on false belief tasks when the chocolate is eaten or destroyed?
What happens to children's performance on false belief tasks when the chocolate is eaten or destroyed?
Signup and view all the answers
What was the main focus of the active behavioral helping paradigm in the study by Buttelmann, Carpenter, & Tomasello?
What was the main focus of the active behavioral helping paradigm in the study by Buttelmann, Carpenter, & Tomasello?
Signup and view all the answers
What ability did infants demonstrate in the study by Buttelmann, Carpenter, & Tomasello by 18 months of age?
What ability did infants demonstrate in the study by Buttelmann, Carpenter, & Tomasello by 18 months of age?
Signup and view all the answers
In the context of children understanding false beliefs, what is a key factor in their ability to judge others' knowledge?
In the context of children understanding false beliefs, what is a key factor in their ability to judge others' knowledge?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following statements best reflects a child's growth in executive control?
Which of the following statements best reflects a child's growth in executive control?
Signup and view all the answers
Study Notes
Theory of Mind (ToM) Overview
- ToM is the ability to understand that others have their own beliefs, desires, and intentions.
- Everyday understanding of others is mentalistic. We consider others' mental states to understand their actions.
- Beliefs can be true or false. Whether a belief matches reality is important to ToM. This means a belief can be true or false.
- Children's understanding of mental states is not immediately developed.
- ToM is a complex skill.
What is Theory of Mind?
- Understanding others' mental states or psychological states.
- Perspective-taking, putting oneself in the others' shoes.
- Mind-reading, inferring others' thoughts and feelings.
Mental States
- Goals/intentions and desires drive actions.
- People with differing goals/intentions act differently.
- Understanding perception and knowledge access.
- Visual perspective-taking: Understanding what others can see.
- "Seeing" is not the same as "knowing" (different perspectives about the same thing).
- Beliefs are representations of reality (Can be true or false).
- True belief - accurate representation.
- Ignorance - unaware of reality.
- False belief - inaccurate representation.
- Second-order beliefs - beliefs about others' beliefs.
Goals and Intentions
- Unsuccessful actions help explore agents' goals.
- Infants observe and react to the intentional behaviors of adults.
- 9 -18-month olds show different responses when adults are unwilling vs trying but unable to hand them a toy
- Infants adjusted their behavior in response to the intentional actions of the experimenters.
Understanding Others' Intentions
- Clumsy/Unable (related to understanding accidental actions).
- Tease/Unwilling (relating to understanding deliberate actions).
Desires
- Children tend to assume others' likes and dislikes parallel their own.
- Children younger than age 2 tend to present what they like.
- Children around age 2 start to understand that others have different desires.
Perception & Knowledge "Access"
- 12-month-olds demonstrate looking for objects hidden out view.
- 24-month-olds demonstrate assisting adults in finding objects.
- Understanding others' limited perception vs. their own.
Beliefs: True vs. False
- People act on their beliefs, but beliefs may not match reality.
- False-belief tasks assess if children can realize others might have inaccurate beliefs about a situation.
- Children's understanding of others' false beliefs is a key part of developmental change in ToM.
False Belief Tasks
- Unexpected location task (e.g., Maxi's chocolate task).
- Unexpected contents/identity task (e.g., Smarties task).
Implicit vs. Explicit ToM
- Explicit ToM: conscious track of others' mental states (assessed using interviews with older children).
- Implicit ToM: unconscious tracking of others' mental states (assessed with infants, using looking time studies).
Is it "competence" or "performance"?
- Different models to explain ToM.
- Conceptual change model (wellman, Cross, Watson 2001)
- Competence model (critique of conceptual change model)
- Maturation model (nativist)
Conceptual Change Models
- Children's early ToM are about desires.
- Understanding of the internal states of others includes goals, intentions, and perception/knowledge.
- Child's representation of reality changes to include internal states and beliefs.
Competence Models
- Traditional false belief tasks underestimate ability in young children because of task demands.
- Issues with task complexity.
- Meaning of questions within the tasks.
- Salience of mental states.
Wording of the Question
- How the wording of a question affects how well 3-year-olds perform on false belief tasks.
- Different wording can sometimes aid children in successful response.
Deception
- Children's strategies to deceive experimenters to win the game.
- Different types of false trails.
- Children adapt to how others are trying to deceive or be deceived.
Inhibitory Control
- Importance of controlling certain thoughts.
- False belief tasks require inhibiting existing knowledge to respond to the question.
- Suggests the ability to control one's thoughts develops over time.
Consistent Results
- Behavioral paradigm to observe if infants consider adult's belief.
- Infants as young as 18 months display a form of mind-reading and consider others’ beliefs in their interactions.
Consistent Results
- False Belief condition (adult unaware) vs True Belief condition (adult aware).
- Observations help determine the goal of the adult.
Consistent Results (Onishi & Baillargeon 2005)
- Implicit ToM and false belief tasks with 15 - month olds.
- Nonverbal "Violation of expectation" paradigm
- True belief condition and false belief condition results
Conclusion: False Belief Tasks
- Summary of the different factors that determine whether children succeed on a false belief task.
- Scaffolding can help children perform better if the task is modified or worded differently.
- There is a developmental change in children's ability to deal with others' false beliefs.
- ToM ability does appear to develop.
Beyond False Belief Tasks
- Being able to attribute a false belief is just one part of our understanding of other's minds.
- Naturalistic interactions in which children perform well.
- The correlation between false belief understanding and other abilities as executive function, language skills.
- Importance of predicting the success of false belief tasks using family conversations.
Is ToM a Universal Ability
- Are false-belief tasks appropriate for all cultures?
- The tests may not be appropriate for some cultural settings.
- Variation is possible in developmental trajectories concerning ToM.
Is ToM a Uniquely Human Ability?
- Primates can perceive others as goals-oriented.
- Primates can track what others know.
- Primates are not as successful in cooperative interactions as human children to act on others' false beliefs.
- Chimps do not display false belief understanding to the same extent as human children.
Summary of study notes
- A comprehensive description of theory of mind.
- Methods to measure ToM.
- Children's and primate's ability to understand intentions and others' beliefs.
Studying That Suits You
Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.
Related Documents
Description
This quiz explores infant behavior in response to adult intentions, focusing on studies by Behne, Carpenter, Call, & Tomasello (2005). It examines how infants differentiate between an unwilling adult and an unable adult, their understanding of desires, and reactions to goal-directed actions. Delve into the nuances of infant cognitive development and social understanding.