Supporting Theory of Mind Development

Modeling the Development of Theory of Mind

Recently, there have been two process-based computational cognitive models of theory of mind (ToM) (Hiatt & Trafton, 2010; Arslan, Taatgen, & Verbrugge, 2013). Ours (Hiatt & Trafton, 2010) models the development of ToM cognitive mechanisms, such as simulation, and focuses on first-order false belief tasks; the other (Arslan et al., 2013) learns to perform ToM using the activation of declarative...

Representational Development and Theory-of-mind Computations

Non-linearities in Theory-of-Mind Development

Research on Theory-of-Mind (ToM) has mainly focused on ages of core ToM development. This article follows a quantitative approach focusing on the level of ToM understanding on a measurement scale, the ToM Storybooks, in 324 typically developing children between 3 and 11 years of age. It deals with the eventual occurrence of developmental non-linearities in ToM functioning, using smoothing techn...

Theory of mind development can withstand compromised episodic memory development.

As humans, we are consciously aware of unobservable mental states, including our own during episodic memory and other people's by having a "theory of mind" (ToM). Episodic memory and ToM are closely related: they share a neural substrate and emerge close in time in ontogenetic development. This relationship is central to prominent child development and cognitive neuroscience theories of ToM, bu...

Ongoing neural development of affective theory of mind in adolescence.

Affective Theory of Mind (ToM), an important aspect of ToM, involves the understanding of affective mental states. This ability is critical in the developmental phase of adolescence, which is often related with socio-emotional problems. Using a developmentally sensitive behavioral task in combination with functional magnetic resonance imaging, the present study investigated the neural developme...