Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Lydia P. Schidelko, Michael Huemer, Lara M. Schroeder, Anna S. Lueb, Josef Perner, Hannes Rakoczy
Summary: The study tests the pragmatic account of the performance pattern in true belief (TB) control tasks by administering TB and false belief (FB) tasks to 3- to 6-year-olds. The results show a parallel and correlated development in FB and false sign (FS) tasks, replicating the puzzling performance pattern in TB tasks. This supports the pragmatic performance account.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Cynthia Cabanas, Atsushi Senju, Tim J. Smith
Summary: Analyzing cinematic structures provides insights into viewers' interpretation of characters' mental states through spontaneous theory of mind. This study explored how viewers' inferences of mental states impact film event comprehension in dramatic irony scenes. The findings suggest that exposure to undisclosed critical information enhances viewers' spontaneous mental state inferences and integration into event models.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Linguistics
Jonathan Phillips, Aaron Norby
Summary: Research on theory of mind has focused on demonstrating the ability to represent others' non-factive mental states, but may have confused this with the more general capacity to represent others' understandings of the world. A new experimental paradigm, the diverse-knowledge task, has been introduced to operationalize the essential features of theory of mind.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Pamela Barone, Lisa Wenzel, Marina Proft, Hannes Rakoczy
Summary: This study aimed to answer three questions regarding the implicit measures of false belief understanding in young children. The researchers conducted a conceptual replication of a previous task and measured children's anticipatory looking and interactive behaviors. The findings showed that children's looking and interactive behavior differed according to the agent's true or false belief, but they mostly did not differentiate between false belief and ignorance conditions in measures of anticipation and uncertainty. Furthermore, the implicit measures were related to each other but not largely related to performance in the standard false belief task.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Stephanie Durrleman, Anamaria Bentea, Andreea Prisecaru, Evelyne Thommen, Helene Delage
Summary: Training on sentential complements can improve Theory of Mind performance in preschool children with neurotypical development. This study found that complementation training can also enhance Theory of Mind in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, especially those with milder symptoms.
JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Branden J. Bio, Arvid Guterstam, Mark Pinsk, Andrew I. Wilterson, Michael S. A. Graziano
Summary: Research suggests that the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ) plays a crucial role in theory of mind (ToM) by modeling the contents of others' minds, potentially outweighing the evaluation of the truth or falsity of those contents.
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Timm Opitz, Tobias Schuwerk, Markus Paulus, Daniela Kloo, Christopher Osterhaus, Klaus-Peter Lesch, Beate Sodian
Summary: Genetic variability is discussed as a factor in individual differences in Theory of Mind development. This study attempted to replicate previous findings on the associations between specific genetic markers and Theory of Mind performance, but did not find any evidence to support these associations. Methodological issues and limitations in research currently prevent firm conclusions on genetic influences on Theory of Mind development.
DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Federica Bianco, Ilaria Castelli
Summary: After starting formal education, the development of theory of mind enters a period of rapid growth accompanied by social and academic challenges. Researchers have proposed training programs to enhance mature theory of mind skills and examine their effects on broader cognitive and social outcomes. This mini-review examines existing training programs for improving three key aspects of mature theory of mind skills and discusses their impact on intra- and inter-personal competence. The paper concludes with a summary of current achievements and areas for future research.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Experimental
David M. Sobel
Summary: The unexpected contents task is a well-established measure for studying young children's developing theory of mind. The task measures whether children understand that others have a false belief about a deceptive container and whether children can track the representational change in their own beliefs about the container's contents. Previous analyses found little evidence for a difference in children's responses on these questions, but the current meta-analyses show a more robust interaction between question type and age. Younger children performed better on questions about their own representational change, while older children showed better performance on questions about others' false beliefs. A mega-analysis of over 1200 children confirmed these findings.
Article
History & Philosophy Of Science
Julia Wolf
Summary: Research on Theory of Mind has traditionally focused on belief attribution, but recent studies have expanded to include other mental states, particularly factive mental states. The findings suggest that children's early pretend play provides important insights into their ability to handle inconsistent representations.
Article
Psychology, Experimental
Agnes Melinda Kovacs, Erno Teglas, Gergely Csibra
Summary: Recent evidence suggests that 15-month-old infants are able to attribute beliefs with underspecified content, update and maintain these beliefs later, even if their validity is unknown. Infants in experiments displayed encoding and updating of beliefs attributed to agents, using metarepresentational format, indicating a crucial characteristic of mature theory of mind.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Tobias Schuwerk, Beate Sodian
Summary: Altered Theory of Mind is central in autism research, but recent evidence shows comparable Theory of Mind abilities in autistic and non-autistic individuals, challenging previous descriptions. This study examined self-other control as a potential cognitive mechanism for Theory of Mind differences between autistic and non-autistic adults. The results revealed altered self-other control in autistic adults, with difficulties in considering others' perspectives and less interference from incongruent viewpoints. These findings contribute to understanding Theory of Mind in autism and explaining communication difficulties with non-autistic people in everyday life.
Article
Linguistics
Vanessa Diaz
Summary: The development of Theory of Mind (ToM) in bilingual children is enhanced by factors such as sociolinguistic sensitivity and language processes, which allow them to rely more on person-intention cues and repair breakdowns in communication effectively.
BILINGUALISM-LANGUAGE AND COGNITION
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Jonathan Phillips, Wesley Buckwalter, Fiery Cushman, Ori Friedman, Alia Martin, John Turri, Laurie Santos, Joshua Knobe
Summary: Research indicates that nonhuman primates attribute knowledge but not belief, knowledge representations emerge earlier in human development than belief representations, and individuals may maintain the capacity to represent knowledge even when belief representation is disrupted. The attribution of knowledge may be automatic and quicker than belief attributions.
BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Education, Special
Isabel Neitzel, Martina Penke
Summary: The study found that a considerable proportion of individuals with Down syndrome have difficulties in understanding false belief. In contrast to children with other developmental disorders, syntactic abilities were found to have limited relevance to false belief understanding in individuals with Down syndrome.
RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
(2021)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
G. Mioni, S. Grondin, L. Bardi, F. Stablum
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2020)
Article
Neurosciences
Carlos Gonzalez-Garcia, Silvia Formica, David Wisniewski, Marcel Brass
Summary: Human cognitive flexibility involves converting complex instructions into novel behaviors, with previous research suggesting the involvement of frontal and parietal brain regions. Independent procedural and declarative signals play a key role in this process, with procedural activation predicting subsequent behavioral performance.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Danna Oomen, Annabel D. Nijhof, Jan R. Wiersema
Summary: This study found that adults with autism are more likely to experience depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic, with increased worries about their pets, work, getting medication and food, as well as their own safety/security. They felt relieved from social stress, but found the loss of social contact difficult. Adults with autism also expressed more stress about the disruption of their routines, while appreciating the increased solidarity and reduced sensory and social overload experienced during the pandemic.
Article
Neurosciences
Silvia Formica, Carlos Gonzalez-Garcia, Mehdi Senoussi, Marcel Brass
Summary: Humans are able to convert symbolic instructions into novel behaviors by reformatting declarative content into action-oriented code optimized for execution. Neuroimaging research focuses on brain areas involved, while temporal and electrophysiological mechanisms remain poorly understood. Results suggest that proceduralization of information involves orchestrating complex tasks and configuring the motor system, not observed in declarative formats.
Article
Neurosciences
Nathalie Richard, Michel Desmurget, Achille Teillac, Pierre-Aurelien Beuriat, Lara Bardi, Gino Coude, Alexandru Szathmari, Carmine Mottolese, Angela Sirigu, Bassem Hiba
Summary: The study provides evidence of dense connections between the dorso-posterior parietal cortex (DPPC) and focal sectors within the pre and postcentral gyrus, supporting the existence of a direct sensory-parietal-motor loop suited for fast manual control and rapid integration of distal sensorimotor signals.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Annabel D. Nijhof, Jana von Trott zu Solz, Caroline Catmur, Geoffrey Bird
Summary: Using an Attentional Blink paradigm and measuring EEG, this study investigated the attentional responses to own and others' names in autistic and neurotypical adults. The results indicate that there is no significant difference in the attentional self-bias towards one's own name between autistic individuals and neurotypical individuals, both behaviorally and neurologically.
COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Judith Goris, Senne Braem, Shauni Van Herck, Jonas Simoens, Eliane Deschrijver, Jan R. Wiersema, Bryan Paton, Marcel Brass, Juanita Todd
Summary: Findings suggest that individuals with autism exhibit faster model updating during early sensory processing, resulting in less influence from the initial context.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
David Wisniewski, Emiel Cracco, Carlos Gonzalez-Garcia, Marcel Brass
Summary: Research has shown that most people believe in free will, but their attitudes towards free will can be influenced. The study explores the relationship between attitudes and beliefs about free will, finding that reducing belief in free will does not necessarily change attitudes towards free will.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Experimental
Nel Tavernier, David Wisniewski, Marcel Brass
Summary: Research has explored people's beliefs in free will (FWB) through social psychology and experimental philosophy, using experimental manipulations and vignette studies. However, both approaches have limitations, with experimental manipulations facing demand effects and vignettes being highly abstract. In two registered studies, a novel approach was developed by merging these approaches in an online video game setting. The experience-based FWB manipulation showed that decreasing FWB impacted variables such as perceived control and responsibility, but its effect did not transfer to participants' general FWB. Overall, this research provides a way forward in studying laypeople's beliefs in free will.
PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH-PSYCHOLOGISCHE FORSCHUNG
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Annabel D. Nijhof
Summary: Despite initial evidence in favor of the Theory of Mind (ToM) theory of autism, research on ToM in autism has yielded mixed results due to the heterogeneous nature of the literature. To gain additional insights, researchers have turned to neuroimaging techniques to study spontaneous ToM and investigate neural responses during live social interactions. Furthermore, there is ongoing investigation into the difficulties related to the 'Theory of Own Mind'. In summary, the awareness of past shortcomings in ToM research in autism has sparked new research directions that hold promise for addressing outstanding questions in this field.
SOCIAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Letizia Amodeo, Jan R. Wiersema, Marcel Brass, Annabel D. Nijhof
Summary: The study found significant correlations in self-bias magnitude between memory and attention, as well as between attention and perception. However, there was no significant relationship between memory and perception in terms of self-bias magnitude. Additionally, there was no significant correlation between autistic traits and self-bias magnitude in the neurotypical sample.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Pierre-Aurelien Beuriat, Irene Cristofori, Nathalie Richard, Lara Bardi, Celia Loriette, Alexandru Szathmari, Federico Di Rocco, Pierre Leblond, Didier Frappaz, Cecile Faure-Conter, Line Claude, Carmine Mottolese, Michel Desmurget
BRAIN COMMUNICATIONS
(2020)
Article
Psychology, Experimental
Rachida El Kaddouri, Lara Bardi, Diana De Bremaeker, Marcel Brass, Jan R. Wiersema
PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH-PSYCHOLOGISCHE FORSCHUNG
(2020)
Article
Psychology, Experimental
Annabel D. Nijhof, Kimron L. Shapiro, Caroline Catmur, Geoffrey Bird