Attribution or representation of mental states in oneself or others to explain or predict behaviour. Component abilities need not form an all-or-none package.
A task framework using video narratives to manipulate emotionality and mental-state reasoning separately. Affect and compassion ratings, reasoning accuracy and confidence can be analysed as distinct outcomes.
Interpreting another agent's action in relation to an outcome it is pursuing. It can be narrower than representing the agent's beliefs or intentions in a human-like way.
Representing an agent's belief as differing from reality and predicting action accordingly. False belief, ignorance and a correct remembered location require different controls.
An emergence account assigns a capacity such as language or executive control a role in constructing understanding of belief over development. An expression account assigns it a role in accessing and displaying already available understanding. The same observed correlation is compatible with both. Immediate task-demand manipulations primarily probe expression; lasting transfer from a controlled intervention can constrain emergence, provided strategy and practice explanations are addressed.
A task testing how an agent will act or respond when its representation differs from the actual state of affairs. Unexpected-transfer tasks contrast the location an agent witnessed with a subsequent displacement it did not witness; comprehension controls and response demands affect interpretation.[ref]
Beliefs about beliefs by Heinz Wimmer and Josef Perner. Cognition 13, 103–128; unexpected-transfer stories
Language interpretation, memory, inhibitory control, response generation and other demands affecting the observed answer. Lowering concurrent demands while preserving the mistaken-belief contrast can reveal successful performance earlier than a standard task. The modified procedure still needs controls against cueing and simplified nonmental strategies.[ref]
Two-and-a-half-year-olds succeed at a traditional false-belief task with reduced processing demands by Peipei Setoh and others. PNAS 113, 13360–13365; Experiments 1–4 and picture-book apparatus
Tracking another individual's informational access or knowledge. Success does not automatically imply understanding false belief.
Using differences in visual access between individuals. Knowing what another can see differs from representing exactly how an object appears to them.
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Theory of mind (ToM) refers to the cognitive ability to understand that others have thoughts, beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives that may differ from one’s own. This concept is crucial for social interaction, as it allows individuals to predict and interpret the behavior of others, engage in empathy, and navigate complex social situations. Typically, the development of theory of mind occurs in early childhood.