Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to interpret and understand human behaviour by representing the mental states of others. Like many human capacities, ToM is thought to develop through both complex biological and socialization mechanisms. However, no study has examined the joint effect of genetic and environmental influences on ToM. This study examined how variability in the oxytocin receptor...

This study examined the link between theory of mind (ToM) in middle childhood and teachers’ propensity for mental-state language self-reported conversational-instruction strategies. Multilevel analyses on 430 Italian children (221 girls, Mage = 9.34 years, SD .63, Range: 7.95–11.43 years) from 27 primary-school classrooms their teachers showed that: (i) there were striking between-classroom dif...

Some autistic children pass classic Theory of Mind (ToM) tasks that others fail, but the significance of this finding is at present unclear. We identified two such groups of primary school age (labelled ToM+ and ToM-) and a matched comparison group of typically developing children (TD). Five years later we tested these participants again on a ToM test battery appropriate for adolescents and con...

OBJECTIVE We aimed to compare Theory of Mind (ToM) functions and investigate the relationship between ToM functions and verbal working memory (VWM) in first degree relatives of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia patients. METHOD The sample consisted of first degree relatives of patients with bipolar disorder (n=22), schizophrenia (n=28), and age, gender, education and total IQ matched healthy...

The ability to deduce other persons' mental states and emotions which has been termed 'theory of mind (ToM)' is highly heritable. First molecular genetic studies focused on some dopamine-related genes, while the genetic basis underlying different components of ToM (affective ToM and cognitive ToM) remain unknown. The current study tested 7 candidate polymorphisms (rs4680, rs4633, rs2020917, rs2...

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Children's theory of mind (ToM) is typically measured with laboratory assessments of performance. Although these measures have generated a wealth of informative data concerning developmental progressions in ToM, they may be less useful as the sole source of information about individual differences in ToM and their relation to other facets of development. In the current research, we aimed to exp...

Theory of Mind (ToM) ─ the ability to understand other's thoughts, intentions, and emotions ─ is important for navigating interpersonal relationships, avoiding conflict, and empathizing. Prior research has identified many factors that affect one's ToM, but no study has examined how different kinds of monetary incentives affect ToM. We ask: Does money affect ToM? If so, how does the affect of mo...

It has been hypothesized that a Theory of Mind (ToM) deficit could be a vulnerability marker for psychosis. Recent studies, however, have shown ToM deficits in affective relapses of bipolar disorder as well as in the euthymic phase. This study analyzes the relationship between ToM and a previous history of psychotic symptoms in bipolar disorder. ToM, sustained attention and executive functions ...