Theory of Mind Deficits in Children Gemma Miller Gemma Miller Ball State University Theory of Mind Deficits in Children Gemma Miller Gemma Miller Ball State University False- Belief Model Introduction/ Background Abstract References Methodology The purpose of this presentation is to summarize the literature available related to theory of mind deficits in children. Theory of mind refers to the ability of a person to understand the beliefs, feelings, and thoughts that another person has. A summary of the models behind theory of mind will be given along with risk factors of children, including deafness and autism spectrum disorder. The summary will go on to discuss previous research on interventions to use with children who are experiencing deficits in theory of mind. The participants will gain a better understanding of the expectant developmental milestones for theory of mind and methods to check for its understanding. Conclusions Future Directions Interventions Information regarding theory of mind deficits and the population is effects most was found via PsycInfo and Google Scholar through the Ball State University student research resources databases using EBSCOHost. Combinations of the following search terms were used to find peer-reviewed research articles on the subject: ‘theory of mind,’ ‘autism,’ ‘thought-bubbles,’ ‘interventions,’ and ‘deficits.’ Many articles came up in the search but few showed the relationship I was looking for. Using the articles I found I would then use the references section of the article to find additional sources.  Theory of Mind (ToM; Colle, Baron-Cohen, & Hill, 2006) is the ability to understand the mental states of oneself and also in others  Necessary for predicting others behaviors  The ability to understand that a person has feelings, thoughts and beliefs that may not match reality is an important aspect of social understanding referred to as possessing a theory of mind Research demonstrates that children with theory of mind deficits face a number of challenges, including an inability to perceive the reactions in others. Despite this deficit, there has been some research conducted that found some interventions to diminish these effects. Thought-bubble interventions can be used with the autistic population in order to give the children a model in which to perceive the reaction and beliefs in others. Future researchers would hope to find additional interventions to help bridge the gap between theory of mind deficits in children with social deficits compared to the normal population  There are several interventions that have been found to help children with autism spectrum disorder or others with deficits in their ToM Thought Bubbles (Wellman, 2002; Wellman & Peterson, 2013 )  Useful for children with ASD  Thought-bubbles as a device for representing mental states  Leads children to pass fasle-belief tests and other ToM tests  Thought-bubble trining more easily extends to children’s understanding of thoughts, not just behavior  Expands on the picture-in-the-head model  Provides a way for the children to depict thoughts pictorially (Dyer et al., 2000)  This straightforward approach is useful fro children with ASD  By age 4, ToM should have begun to develop (Colle et al., 2006; Wellman et al., 2002)  Children begin to realize that mental states (or beliefs) are not necessarily reflections of reality  This can be checked through the child’s mastery of False- Belief Tasks  Normally developing four year olds will give the correct response while three year olds will give the incorrect response (Onishi & Baillargeon, 2005) Why is this important?  ToM testing is a useful tool for detecting a child’s ability to empathize as well as their social cognitive functioning (Lo, Siemensma, Collin, & Hokken-Koelega, 2013).  ToM is related to language development in children and full-scale intelligence, especially verbal intelligence (Lo et al., 2013).  ToM deficits can be found in a variety of populations especially children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)  Happe (1992) found that children with autism failed to use the proper thought words (e.g. “was like”) but were still able to use and comprehend metaphors and similes.  Other groups at risk are deaf or hearing impaired children  One study by Peterson & Siegal (1999) found that hearing is not in itself a leading cause for deficits in ToM but rather an inability of hearing parents to adequately discuss mental states of others (Meristo et al., 2012).  When working with children with ToM deficits in the school, it is important to recognize where the weakness lays and how to best address it. Example of a false-belief task Theory of Mind Areas Explaining own behavior Understanding emotions Predicting the behavior or emotional states of others Understanding perspectives of others Inferring the intentions of others Understanding that behavior impacts how others think or feel Joint attention and other social conventions Differentiating fact from fiction Smith Myles & Southwick, 2008)

Colle, L., Baron-Cohen, S., & Hill, J. (2006). Do children with autism have a theory of mind? A non- verbal test of autism vs. specific language impairment. Journal of Autism Developmental Disorder, 37, Doi: /s Dyer, J. R., Shatz, M., & Wellman, H. M. (2000). Young children’s storybooks as a source of mental state information. Cognitive Development, 15, Happe, F. G. E. (1992). Communicative competence and theory of mind in autism: A test of relevance theory. Cognition, 48, Lo, S. T., Siemensma, E., Collin, P., & Hokken-Koelega, A. (2013). Impaired theory of mind and symptoms of autism spectrum disorder in children with Prader-Willi syndrome. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 34, Meristo, M., Morgan, G., Geraci, A., Iozzi, L., Hjelmquist, E., Surian, L., & Siegal, M. (2012). Belief attribution in deaf and hearing infants. Developmental Science, 15(5), Doi: /j x Onishi, K. H. & Baillargeon, R. (2013). Do 15-month-old infants understand false beliefs? Science, 308(5719), Doi: /science Peterson, C. C. & Siegal, M. (1999). Representing inner worlds: Theory of mind in autistic, deaf, and normal hearing children. Psychological Science, 10(2), Smith Myles, B. & Southwick, J. (2008). Theor of mind. Geneva Centre for Autism. Retrieved from Wellman, H. M., Baron-Cohen, S., Caswell, R., Gomez, J. C., Swettenham, J., Toye, E., & Lagattuta, K. (2002). Thought-bubbles help children with autism acquire an alternative to a theory of mind. Autism, 6(4), Doi: / Wellman, H. M. & Peterson, C. C. (2013). Deafness, thought bubbles, and theory-of-mind development. Developmental Psychology, 49(12), Doi: /a References Gemma Miller Gemma Miller Ball State University References Gemma Miller Gemma Miller Ball State University