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theory of mind mechanism
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Describe what evolutionary psychologists mean when they employ the term ‘theory of mind’. Use examples and research studies from Book 1, Chapter 2 to show why this theory is important in evolutionary psychology. Evolutionary psychology is a specialist field within the spectrum of psychological enquiry, which seeks to examine and understand some of the predominant reasoning behind the concept of why the human species, whilst biologically similar to other species on the planet, is so very distinct in terms of intelligence and mental progression; demonstrated by the multifaceted and complex social structures we have created. Primary to this domain of evolutionary psychological interest is the notion of ‘theory of mind’, which was developed and advocated by Premack and Woodruff (1978), and has been the topic of fierce discussion and analysis since. It has resulted in manifold research studies and commentaries, regarding the topic, from an extensive range of sources within the academic field of psychology. This essay intends to explore the concept of theory of mind, using examples and research studies to fathom its relevance, application and significance within evolutionary psychology as a whole. The concept of ‘theory of mind’ is a complex one with various considerations. It can basically be defined as, ‘The ability to understand or ‘read’ the mind of another individual; the ability to ‘put oneself in the place of another’,’ (Smith and Stevens 2002). Essentially, ‘theory of mind’ is concerned with the ideal that a person can comprehend what another person in the same situation may be thinking, or the way in which they may be feeling, without the necessity for direct contact and communication to establish that information. The paramount dilemma for psychologists researching this area of evolutionary psychology, is the difficulty in ensuring that it genuinely is the mind of another individual that a person is responding to, rather than their overt behaviour, bearing in mind the impossibility of looking directly into another’s mind. To attempt to relinquish some of these concerns regarding the differentiation of mind and behaviour definition, Whiten (1996) established four distinct variations of mind- reading. These are implicit mind- reading, counter- deception, recognition of intervening variables, and experience projection. Impli... ... middle of paper ... ...ng a theory of mind plays for an effective social life.’ (Smith and Stevens 2002). Theory of mind has also enabled numerous evolutionary psychologists to attempt to understand and analyse the social behaviour and interactions of other species on the planet, such as apes and chimpanzees, which in itself is surely the essence of the discipline. So, in conclusion theory of mind is a method of explaining human social interaction, which goes some distance to explaining our somewhat seemingly planetary unique ability to empathise, comprehend, and guess others actions and behaviour. It has been researched by a number of psychologists in the field, and is an extremely useful and viable tool in explaining some of the complexities of the human condition. It has a central position in the field of evolutionary psychology, and will continue to do so; with good reason, for without its presence a large amount of the remainder of the psychological spectrum would have difficulty understanding anything about the human mind. References Smith, S. & Stevens, R. (2002) Evolutionary Psychology, in Miell, D., Pheonix, A. and Thomas, K. (eds) Mapping Psychology 1, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Gross, R (2010). Psychology: The science of mind and behaviour. 6th ed. London: Hodder Education. p188.
Theory of Mind links to knowledge which is gained and used through learning, practicing and communicating with other specific individuals. Raised in a specific family and society plays a great role in
theory of mind: A longitudinal study of syntax, semantics, working memory and false belief. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 23, 117–141.
Tooby, J., Cosmides, L., & Barkow, J. (1992). The Adapted Mind: evolutionary psychology and the
Theodore Millon’s theory on human, biological, psychological, and interactional dimensions in the human mind are evolved from different perspectives throughout the
The Extent to Which an Acquisition of a Theory of Mind is Essential for the Typical Development of the Child
An attempt to understand and grasp what the mind truly is has paved the way for new fields in research. First of all, the mind is elucidated as “the element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought.” Based on that information it can be assumed that the mind is like our window to the physical world, but it is crucial to note that certain aspects of our personality define it. Additionally, our perceptual experiences are deemed to be influenced by a stimulus that arrives at our sensory organs and have the power to cause changes in our mental states. But, how is it “possible for conscious experiences to arise out of a lump of gray matter endowed with nothing but electrochemical properties (wiki)?” This is precisely where psychologists come into play since they focus on understanding people, the mind, and human behavior. Psychologists perform countless experiments and research studies in order to elucidate on how we act, feel, and think, and additionally treat mental illness...
A part of being a grown-up is knowing how to interact with people, how to make them happy or simply knowing how to empathize with a person feelings and intentions, which is a rather more complex process than it might seem at a first sight. For instance, in order for a child to be able to perform all of above need to acquire the concept of the theory of mind, as defined by Hala (1997): “A framework for predicting and explaining what people think and do”.
The biological and mental functions that are present in the body process the information that is given, and the mind is the mediator of the information that is processed through these biological and mental functions. It constructs an interpretation of the sensory input that is received by both functions. The information that is received by the brain is further interpreted by the mind and it constructs a unique reality from the basic information. The mind as the mediator can be seen in topics such as categorization and bias in social realities, but also in the language and thought of both humans and non-human animals. ***CONSOLIDATE THIS (LESS WORDY)***
Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to infer a range of mental states that cause behaviour, having it enables you to reflect on what is in your own mind as well as that of another person (Schlinger, 2009). There are tasks to test for ToM, for example, the false belief task. This determines whether someone will act on a belief they know is incorrect or acknowledge that another person, who is unaware of a particular piece of information, may act in an ‘incorrect’ way (Harris & Butterworth, 2002). If ToM is a result of nature, it is due to genetics, whereas, if nurture is the cause, environmental factors have produced it. This essay will use animal and human studies to determine whether ToM is a function of nature or nurture.
In a world of over seven billion people, one can often feel alone due to factors such as social isolation, lack of intimate connections, and general stress. This feeling of loneliness is often times made worse by the presumed understanding that these seven billion people are alive and conscious. But why is it that humans assume anyone aside from themselves possess true consciousness and a developed mind? This idea that everyone has a mind is not, in fact, inborn. Children do not exhibit development of a theory of mind, the understanding that other humans possess thoughts, consciousness and intentionality, until around the ages of three or four. Past this age, those questioning whether others could have a mind are considered to be either philosophers
Buller, David. (2005). Evolutionary Psychology: the Emperor’s New Paradigm. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 9(6), 277-282
In order to reach any type of conclusion with regard to how much of human behaviour can be explained by an evolutionary psychology framework, it is necessary to understand what the goals of such a subject area are: “The goal of evolutionary psychology is to study human behaviour as the product of evolved psychological mechanisms that depend on internal and environmental input for their development, activation, and expression in manifest behaviour.” (Buss, et al., 2010)
One of the most exciting psychological abilities of people is our ability to interpret the behavior of others through their beliefs and desires, and the questions are: What is the psychological mechanics issued by people to explain it? Is this capacity based on a particular theory? What is this theory? At what stage can children achieve this capability? What is the shape of its stages? Development of the theory of mind is one of the most important developments in early childhood regarding social cognition. The development is very important throughout the first five years of childhood. Theory of mind is defined as an understanding to consider a person as a mental being who has their characteristic mental states. It can also be used to explain
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind In Society:the development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, Ma: Harvard University Press.