Problem 7 - DONE

Question 1

theory of mind

Answer 1

= a well organised understanding of how the mind works and how it influences behaviour (siegler)

• continuous development
• mental representation = person’s set of beliefs about the world
• -> different people represent it in different ways (can have false/incorrect beliefs)

Question 2

false belief task

Answer 2

• test of understanding mental representations
• 4 years: don’t succeed; do not understand acting on basis of beliefs
  criticism:
• not sensitive enough for young children
  –> implicit false belief (smarties)

Question 3

sally-anne task

Answer 3

• simpler version
• 3 years: unable to understand
• 4 years: succeed

Question 4

smarties task

Answer 4

• 3 years: lack insight into their own minds; don’t acknowledge their earlier belief
• -> before 4 years: difficulty understanding that another person can have a false belief about the world

Question 5

theory of mind before age 4

Answer 5

• distinguishing mental states in language
• understanding relationship between seeing and knowing
• understanding the appearance-reality distinction
• predicting behaviour

Question 6

distinguishing mental states in language

Answer 6

• 2 years: start using words that refer to internal states of perception/emotion (see, want, look)
• 3 years: use cognitive terms (know, think, remember)
• -> distinguish between mental states and external reality

Question 7

understanding relationship between seeing and knowing

Answer 7

• 2 years: some understanding
• 3 years: understand that different people have different knowledge about the world; some may less complete knowledge
• 4 years: realise that people may have different views of object that is visible to both

Question 8

understanding the appearance-reality distinction

Answer 8

• 3 years: difficulty considering two representations of object at the same time; only consider one interpretation (what they know it is); do not realise that appearance of representation can be changed
• 4 years: understand that object can be represented as what it looks like + what it is: awareness that at least one representation is false

Question 9

predicting behaviour

Answer 9

• 2 years: understand that people have desires, these can influence behaviour
• 3 years: people have desires + beliefs about world; do not understand yet that people can act on inaccurate beliefs

Question 10

when is theory of mind achieved?

Answer 10

• above 4 years: usually pass false-belief asks
• -> appreciate that other people’s behaviour may be based on false assumption about world
• -> behaviour of person is based on own representation of the world
• interpret and predict behaviour of people around them

Question 11

factors contributing to achieving theory of mind

Answer 11

• language development
• interaction with members of family
• child-child interaction
• -> older children/siblings
• family size

Question 12

theory of mind after age 4

Answer 12

• understand that emotional responses, surprise reactions are based on person’s representation
• deceptive behaviour = planting a false belief in another person’s mind
• understanding second order belief = someone can have beliefs about a third person
  –> I think that she thinks, that he thinks that…
  (- before: first order belief = having a belief about someone having a belief
  –> I think that she thinks that…)

Question 13

theories about development of understanding the mind

Answer 13

• Wellman
• Perner
• Leslie
• Harris

Question 14

Wellman’s theory

Answer 14

three phases:

1. 2 years: theory based on desire psychology (people’s desire influence their behaviour)
2. 3 years: theory based on belief-desire psychology (person has desire and beliefs)
   - -> beliefs as copy of the world
3. 4 years: theory includes realisation that beliefs are interpretations

Question 15

Perner’s theory

Answer 15

• emphasis on change that happens at 4 years: children start understanding false belief
• most important aspect of understanding mind: acquisition of metarepresentation
• -> metarepresentation = understanding of distinction between what is being referred to and what it is represented (appearance-reality)

Question 16

Leslie’s theory

Answer 16

• metarepresentation in relation to pretend play
• ability to coordinate pretend play: understand what is reality and what is play
  –> metarepresentation = secondary representation = play world
  (primary representation = object as it is = real world)

Question 17

Harris’ theory

Answer 17

• children can understand others’ emotions by using simulation
• know own emotions –> project emotions onto others

Question 18

features of autism

Answer 18

main features:
- autistic aloneness
- desire for sameness
secondary features:
- language difficulty
- lack of spontaneous activities
- islets of ability

Question 19

precursors of theory of mind

lecture

Answer 19

• face perception & gaze following
• joint attention
• pretense
• visual perspective-taking
• appearance-reality
• desire

Question 20

precursors - face perception & gaze following

lecture

Answer 20

• increased sensitivity to faces
• between 8 and 14 months: active gaze following
• 18 months: use gaze to guide object choice

Question 21

precursors - joint attention

lecture

Answer 21

• understanding focus of another’s attention
• dyadic joint attention (eye contact; two people)
• -> 3 months: sensitive to few degrees in gaze aversion
• triadic joint attention (involves third party)
• -> 12 months: use own gaze to engage mothers while pointing
• -> 18 months: determine others focus of attention; use of eye gaze and other directional cues
• -> 24 months: use gaze to gain info about other’s desire

Question 22

precursors - pretense

lecture

Answer 22

= pretend play
- dual representation:
–> reality + world of imagination
(leslie theory)

Question 23

precursors - desire

lecture

Answer 23

• young infants: show what they want through pointing
• 2 years: understand behaviour based on desires
  (broccoli experiment)

Question 24

precursors - appearance-reality

lecture

Answer 24

• 3 years: fail

- 4 years: pass

Question 25

precursors - perspective taking

Answer 25

• level 1: understanding that another person sees an object only if the person’s eyes are open and directed toward the object
• -> 2 and 3 years
• level 2: understanding that even though both see the same object, it looks different to people viewing it from different perspectives
• -> 4 and 5 years

Question 26

theories

lecture

Answer 26

domain general: development of ToM stems from a general skill which has effect on several different areas: ToM abilities, but also understanding of physical objects, language… (piaget)

domain specific: development of ToM stems from special knowledge, special processes and mechanisms that only affect ToM skills (chomsky)

Question 27

domain general theories - executive function hypothesis

lecture

Answer 27

(Carlson)
- preschool: information processing skills increase
–> executive functions: planning, inhibition, self-regulation
=> important, but not sufficient

Question 28

domain general theories - representational mind-account

lecture

Answer 28

(Perner)

• with increasing age: own representational abilities develop
• false photograph task
• -> incorrect: autism fail false-belief but succeed on false photograph

Question 29

domain-specific theories - theory theories

lecture

Answer 29

(Wellman)

- child develops step by step a more complex theory about the mind

Question 30

domain-specific theories - theory of mind module

lecture

Answer 30

(Baron-Cohen)

- specific brain mechanism devoted to understanding of other human beings

Question 31

autism

lecture

Answer 31

= complex developmental disability

Question 32

characteristics of autism (DSM-V)

lecture

Answer 32

1. deficits in social communication and social interactions
   - -> deficits in social-emotional reciprocity; non-verbal communicative behaviour in social interaction; developing, maintaining and understanding relationships
2. restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, activities
   - -> stereotyped/repetitive motor movements; insistence on sameness, routines, rituals; fixated interests; hyper- or hypo-activity to sensory input

Question 33

biological theories of autism

lecture

Answer 33

• complex genetic predisposition
• -> environment can change gene expression (environmental toxins, stress)
• brain abnormalities (disturbed migration, insufficient pruning)
• disconnection syndrome
• -> different areas are not well connected (functional & structural)

Question 34

psychological theories of autism

lecture

Answer 34

• theory of mind deficit hypothesis
• executive dysfunction hypothesis
• weak central coherence hypothesis

Question 35

psychological theories - theory of mind deficit hypothesis

lecture

Answer 35

• domain-specific theory
• cannot mentalise
  –> poor understanding of functions of mind; no understanding of seeing & knowing; fail appearance-reality tests
  criticism:
• not specific to autism
• not explain non-social abnormalities
• can improve on ToM tasks –> not in real-life social functioning

Question 36

psychological theories - executive dysfunction hypothesis

lecture

Answer 36

• domain-general theory
• executive functions are impaired
  –> cognitive flexibility (explains need for sameness, lack of impulse)
  criticism:
• not all show executive dysfunction
• not specific to autism

Question 37

psychological theories - weak central coherence hypothesis

lecture

Answer 37

• domain-general theory
• weak/absent drive for global coherence (global picture)
  –> focus on details (explains some symptoms)
  criticism:
• not supported by all studies
• prefer detailed approach –> still able to see global picture