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Questions and Answers
What is the primary focus of the Theory of Mind?
What is the primary focus of the Theory of Mind?
At what age do children typically begin to pass the Sally-Ann Task?
At what age do children typically begin to pass the Sally-Ann Task?
Which task demonstrates egocentrism in children according to Piaget's research?
Which task demonstrates egocentrism in children according to Piaget's research?
What is a possible consequence of failure to develop Theory of Mind in individuals?
What is a possible consequence of failure to develop Theory of Mind in individuals?
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What cognitive factors contribute to success in false-belief tasks?
What cognitive factors contribute to success in false-belief tasks?
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At what developmental stage do infants start to encode the goals of others' actions, according to Woodward's research?
At what developmental stage do infants start to encode the goals of others' actions, according to Woodward's research?
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How do human infants compare to chimpanzees and orangutans in terms of social cognition?
How do human infants compare to chimpanzees and orangutans in terms of social cognition?
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What does the False Photograph Task test in children?
What does the False Photograph Task test in children?
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What does the Cultural Intelligence Hypothesis suggest about the development of social skills in humans?
What does the Cultural Intelligence Hypothesis suggest about the development of social skills in humans?
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What finding was concluded from the study involving subordinates and dominants in chimpanzees regarding food observation?
What finding was concluded from the study involving subordinates and dominants in chimpanzees regarding food observation?
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In non-verbal Theory of Mind tasks, what difference was observed between humans and chimpanzees?
In non-verbal Theory of Mind tasks, what difference was observed between humans and chimpanzees?
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According to Occam's Razor, how should behavioral explanations be approached?
According to Occam's Razor, how should behavioral explanations be approached?
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What key distinction was highlighted about chimpanzee cognition in comparison to human cognition?
What key distinction was highlighted about chimpanzee cognition in comparison to human cognition?
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Study Notes
Theory of Mind (ToM) Definition
- ToM is the ability to understand others' actions based on their beliefs, desires, goals, emotions, and perspectives. It recognizes that others may view the world differently.
- ToM is considered a "theory" because it uses unobservable mental states to explain observable behaviors.
Development of ToM
- Ontogeny: Focuses on how ToM develops in children.
- Phylogeny: Explores how ToM has evolved in humans.
- Egocentrism: Difficulty overcoming one's own perspective to understand others' perspectives. Demonstrated in Piaget's 3-Mountain Task. Lack of ToM is linked to "mind blindness."
Key ToM Tasks
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Sally-Ann Task (Wimmer & Perner, 1983): Evaluates understanding of false beliefs. Children are typically successful by age 4.
- Procedure: Sally puts an object in a basket, then leaves. Ann moves the item. Child is asked where Sally will look for the object.
- Success depends on representing what others believe.
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False Photograph Task (Zaitchik, 1990): Assesses similar cognitive demands to false-belief tasks, without focusing on beliefs. Assesses working memory and executive control, not belief understanding.
- Procedure: Sally takes a photo. The duck is hidden in another place. The child is asked where is the duck in the photo.
- Children who fail often indicate reliance on current location rather than the depicted location in the photo.
Early Development of ToM
- Infants (around 9 months old) begin to encode others' goals, suggesting early understanding of intentions.
- Infants engage in social interactions. Social competence develops earlier, while verbal false-belief tasks are typically passed after age 4.
Is the Human Mind Special? (Michael Tomasello)
- Humans have evolved specialized social cognition skills.
- Humans perform better than chimpanzees and orangutans on social problem-solving.
- Chimpanzees show similar performance as humans in physical problem-solving.
- Cultural intelligence hypothesis: Humans gain unique cultural tools like language, family structures, and community cooperation because their specialized social skills help with this.
- Chimpanzees raised by humans may exhibit improved social behavior, suggesting early social competence in humans may be unique.
Interpreting Infant Data
- Occam's Razor: The simplest explanation is often the best to interpret behavior.
- Rich vs. Lean Interpretations: The extent to which interpretations of non-human primate behavior rely on complex cognitive theories about mental states vs simpler behavioral rules.
Chimpanzee and Human Comparison Examples
- Hare, Call & Tomasello (2001): Chimps' responses in a hidden object task suggest they consider others' presence or absence in their actions, but there is no evidence they reason about beliefs.
- Call & Tomasello (1999): Non-verbal false-belief tasks show humans (5 years old) perform better than chimps.
Chimpanzee Cognition
- Chimps demonstrate complex social behavior.
- Chimps sometimes use rational imitation, suggesting they are able to reason about intentions.
- No evidence suggests that chimps reason about mental states, indicating a key difference between humans and chimpanzees.
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Description
Test your knowledge on the Theory of Mind (ToM), focusing on its definition, development in children, and key tasks like the Sally-Ann Task. Understand the implications of ToM in recognizing the perspectives and beliefs of others. Explore how egocentrism and the evolution of ToM influence our understanding of behavior.
