Understanding of Others Two Aspects of Self: –Public Self: Self that others can see –Private Self: Inner, reflective self not available to others

Why is understanding the distinction between the public and private self important? –Awareness of private self implies an awareness of mental states such as desires and beliefs that Are not accessible to others Guide behavior –Awareness of these mental states is critical for understanding others If you don’t understand that others have mental states that guide their behavior, it is difficult to understand or predict their behavior

As adults, we use our knowledge of mental states to understand human behavior: –Ex: “Why did Jimmy go to Billy’s house?” Desires (“He wanted to play with Billy”) Beliefs (“He thought Billy was at home”) We assume that mental states such as desires and beliefs motivate action (behavior)

These mental states are “invisible” –Can’t see a belief or a desire (or other mental states like intentions, feelings, etc.) So how do children develop an understanding of these “invisible” states and their influence on action?

Development of a Theory of Mind Between 2 and 5 years, children construct a theory of mind (TOM) –Theory of Mind A basic understanding of how the mind works and how it influences behavior –Ex: Desires and beliefs produce actions

Between about 2 and 3 years, children –Talk about mental states (e.g., feelings, desires) –Understand that desires can influence actions –Don’t fully understand how beliefs can influence actions –Seem to treat beliefs as accurate views of reality that everyone shares »Do not understand that a person may act on a belief that is inaccurate

False Belief Tasks –Test a child’s understanding that another person’s behavior will be based on that person’s belief, even if the belief is inaccurate 3-year-olds typically fail false belief tasks By age 5, children pass false belief tasks

Exceptions: Children with autism have great difficulty with false belief (and other similar) tasks Congenitally deaf children of hearing parents (“late signers”) also have difficulty with false belief tasks

What Factors Influence TOM Development? –Biological factors TOM as a product of evolution –Adaptive to understand mental states such as beliefs and desires—makes it possible to understand and predict others’ behavior –TOM module: Brain mechanism that makes it possible for children to acquire a theory of mind

–Social interaction is likely to contribute to the development of a TOM Pretend play: Pretending to be someone one is not or pretending that an object is something else may foster understanding that beliefs may not always reflect reality Discussions with others about mental states such as desires, beliefs, etc. –Mothers who talk more about mental states with young children have children who perform better on false belief tasks

Late signers and autistic children may show delay in TOM development in part because of restricted access to social interaction (Peterson)

Evidence that late signing and autistic children do better on TOM tasks involving pictures –Peterson’s study: Late signers and autistic children performed better on “false drawing” tasks than typical preschool age children Preschool age children performed better on “false belief” tasks than late signers and autistic children