Theory of Mind Stages: Origins of the Theory of Mind

Theory of mind is a concept in the behavioral and brain sciences indicating a person’s ability to obtain an accurate understanding of others’ mental states. Think of it as the intellectual and rational equivalent to the more emotional processes of empathy and sympathy. A person’s theory of mind also correlates to their joint attention and executive function capabilities.

As young children develop a theory of mind, they become more adept at noticing mental states in their parents and peers alike. Over the years, this type of cognitive development improves to a greater and greater degree. People come to understand how others might hold different opinions or worldviews despite coming from the same basic origins. This correlates to a greater increase in perspective-taking and empathy as well.

While most theory of mind researchers focus on human social interactions, others have turned to the animal kingdom to see if these mental states occur in nonhuman mammals as well. David Premack and Guy Woodruff established chimpanzees have some ability to understand the thought processes and feelings of other chimpanzees in their orbit. Vittorio Gallese and other researchers proved the same in regard to rhesus monkeys.

Different psychologists have different opinions about the origins of the theory of mind throughout child development. Most psychologists believe children don’t have any sort of theory of mind until they reach three or four years of age. Still, while a three-year-old might have some ability to understand the thoughts and emotions of others, they’ll inevitably refine this ability to a much more sophisticated degree as they get older.

Cambridge researchers Gillian Baird and Simon Baron-Cohen deserve attribution for pointing out the importance of play to children developing an adequate theory of mind. Another meta-analysis by neuroscience professionals Andrew Meltzoff and Jean Decety focuses on the primacy of mirror neurons in facilitating this sort of skill acquisition.

Theory of mind abilities can accrue one after the other or even in tandem. Learn how these theory of mind development stages help bolster a person’s social cognition:

• Comprehending desire: Children’s understanding of other people’s wants and needs serves as the initial activation point for their theories of mind. A two-month-old infant can only understand their own immediate desires, but as children get older, they realize others’ actions evolve from wants just like their own. This serves as a precursor to understanding others in more advanced ways.
• Comprehending diversity of thought: As you begin to form your own opinions as a child, it comes as a surprise at first that anyone sees the world in a different way. Still, acknowledging diversity of thought is an important stage in developmental psychology. As you get older, it becomes easier to profit from these individual differences in thought, too.
• Comprehending knowledge access: Just because you know something doesn’t mean someone else will by default. For example, if you grew up in New York City and someone visiting you did not grow up there, you’d have to teach them how to navigate the city. Different stimuli lead to different sorts of knowledge, and different people have surpluses and deficits of various types of information.
• Comprehending misguided beliefs: Researchers like Janet Wilde Astington believe children’s understanding of false belief allows them to develop an adequate theory of mind. As children grow up, they start to realize other people might have a false-belief understanding about certain things due to either accidental or willful ignorance.
• Comprehending obfuscated emotions: You unlock the highest stage of your theory of mind when you realize people might be hiding how they really feel. Picking up on subtle cues (such as nonverbal communication or body language) can act as a form of mind reading, in which you make inferences about what’s really going on in another person’s head. Understanding the hidden intentions of others allows you to achieve maximal social competence.

False-belief tests are theory of mind tasks that demonstrate how people can arrive at different conclusions when encountering unique stimuli.

To exemplify this, consider the Sally–Anne test. In this thought experiment, imagine there are two preschoolers: Sally and Anne. Sally puts a marble into a basket and then leaves the room. Anne then enters the room and moves this marble from Sally’s basket to her own box. When Sally returns, she will still believe the marble is in her basket; Anne, on the other hand, knows it’s in the box and knows Sally thinks the marble is still in the basket.

This is a very simple example of how theory of mind differs depending on how much information you have. Researchers like Rebecca Saxe have developed far more advanced false-belief tests involving neuroimaging to better test how subjects can put their theories of mind to the test.

Various neurological disorders and issues can cause problems for a person’s theory of mind. Here are just a few examples to consider:

• Autism spectrum disorders: A child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) might have a more difficult time understanding others’ behavior and thought patterns. By contrast, a child with Down syndrome will often manage to correctly complete a false-belief test when an autistic child won’t. Early interventions can help children with ASDs, including Asperger Syndrome, develop a functional theory of mind.
• Brain damage: Damage to your prefrontal cortex or temporoparietal junction can cause massive impairment to your theory of mind. Longitudinal studies by professionals like Glyn W. Humphreys and Ian Apperly focus on how theory of mind correlates to these specific areas of the brain. This is just one instance demonstrating the connection between the brain’s biological health and the mind’s cognitive processes.
• Schizophrenia: Although advances in psychiatry can help a schizophrenic person retain or regain cognitive abilities, they might still have trouble with their overall theory of mind capacity. Social psychology research indicates schizophrenic people tend to withdraw from those around them and regress into a more isolated frame of mind.

Practicing empathy can help you lead more effectively while building stronger relationships across the personal and professional facets of your life. Challenge your perceptions with the MasterClass Annual Membership and take lessons on emotional intelligence from Pharrell Williams, Roxane Gay, Gloria Steinem, Dr. Cornel West, Walter Mosley, Robert Reffkin, and Robin Arzón.