Graphic Symbols as “The Mind on Paper”: Links Between Children’s Interpretive Theory of Mind and Symbol Understanding

Impaired Theory of Mind (ToM) ability is a core feature of psychotic disorders that challenges psychosis treatment. We aimed to explore the effect of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention (MBI) on ToM ability in a randomized clinical trial (RCT). A sample of 36 participants diagnosed with psychotic disorder were recruited from a community center and randomly allocated to Integrated Rehabilitation Treatment (IRT) or IRT+MBI. ToM skills were assessed through the Hinting Test and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). IRT+MBI scored higher in RMET than IRT at posttreatment. MBI is a promising tool for improving ToM ability in psychosis.Keywords: psychotic disorders, theory of mind, mindfulness-based-interventions.

Download Full-text

Archetype, Psyche, World

International Journal of Jungian Studies ◽

10.1163/19409060-bja10024 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 1-20

Author(s):

Jon Mills

Keyword(s):

Theory Of Mind ◽

Body Problem ◽

External World ◽

Analytical Psychology ◽

Metaphysical Realism ◽

Internal Parameters ◽

New Directions ◽

Mind Body Problem ◽

The Mind ◽

Ontological Position

Abstract In our dialogues over the nature of archetypes, essence, psyche, and world, I further respond to Erik Goodwyn’s recent foray into establishing an ontological position that not only answers to the mind-body problem, but further locates the source of Psyche on a cosmic plane. His impressive attempt to launch a neo-Jungian metaphysics is based on the principle of cosmic panpsychism that bridges both the internal parameters of archetypal process and their emergence in consciousness and the external world conditioned by a psychic universe. Here I explore the ontology of experience, mind, matter, metaphysical realism, and critique Goodwyn’s turn to Neoplatonism. The result is a potentially compatible theory of mind and reality that grounds archetypal theory in onto-phenomenology, metaphysics, and bioscience, hence facilitating new directions in analytical psychology.

Download Full-text

Entrainment, theory of mind, and prosociality in child musicians

Music & Science ◽

10.1177/2059204317753153 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 205920431775315 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Beatriz Ilari ◽

Cara Fesjian ◽

Assal Habibi

Keyword(s):

Theory Of Mind ◽

Music Education ◽

Social Cognitive ◽

Age At Onset ◽

Group Differences ◽

Control Group ◽

Prosocial Skills ◽

Significant Group ◽

Sports Programs ◽

The Mind

In this study, we tracked the development of rhythmic entrainment, prosociality, and theory of mind skills in children attending music and sports programs and in a control group over the course of three years. Forty-five children (mean age at onset = 81 months) drummed in two contextual conditions – alone and social – completed the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test and prosocial tasks (helping and sharing). All children improved in their ability to entrain to external rhythms over time, with the music group outperforming controls in the entrainment-social condition. Developmental effects were found for theory of mind, but no significant group differences. Although there were no significant group differences for prosociality, following three years of music education, entrainment scores in the alone condition were positively correlated with the number of stickers that children in the music group gave to friends. Results are discussed in light of the nature of collective music learning through ensemble participation and its role in the development of social-cognitive and prosocial skills in childhood.

Download Full-text

The Energic–Energetic Distinction and Coleridge’s Two-Level Theory of Mind

Coleridge's Contemplative Philosophy ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198851806.003.0007 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 162-186

Author(s):

Peter Cheyne

Keyword(s):

Theory Of Mind ◽

Human Mind ◽

The Mind

Chapter 6 reconstructs what the author identifies as Coleridge’s two-level theory of the higher and lower levels of mind. Section 6.1 draws on a Coleridgean distinction to characterize the higher mind of idea-directed freedom as energic and the lower mind of desire and association as energetic. Applying this to Coleridge himself, the chapter describes his restless, flowing, and challenging writings as balanced by—and subordinated to—the higher mind that strives towards ultimate ends and meaningful values. Section 6.2 explores the ‘refluent’ dynamic between the higher level of imagination and reason and the lower, of sensation, desire, and the ‘mechanical understanding’. Here, the author elaborates his theory of intellectual, noetic contemplation versus sensuous, inchoate contemplation, developing from Coleridge’s higher–lower, energic–energetic dynamic. Section 6.3 explores what the author calls the ordination of thought and being by ideas, involving the orientation of the mind to ends and values, relating this to Coleridge’s view of the three main modes of balance or imbalance in the human mind.

Download Full-text

Fact or fiction?

Scientific Study of Literature ◽

10.1075/ssol.20007.chl ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Natasha Chlebuch ◽

Thalia R. Goldstein ◽

Deena Skolnick Weisberg

Keyword(s):

Social Cognition ◽

Theory Of Mind ◽

Higher Order ◽

Literary Fiction ◽

Critical Question ◽

Text Type ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Eyes Task ◽

The Mind

Abstract Many studies have claimed to find that reading fiction leads to improvements in social cognition. But this work has left open the critical question of whether any type of narrative, fictional or nonfictional, might have similar effects. To address this question, as well as to test whether framing a narrative as fiction matters, the current studies presented participants (N = 268 in Study 1; N = 362 in Study 2) with literary fiction texts, narrative nonfiction texts, expository nonfiction texts, or no texts. We tested their theory-of-mind abilities using the picture-based Reading the Mind in the Eyes task and a text-based test of higher-order social cognition. Reading anything was associated with higher scores compared to reading nothing, but the effects of framing and text type were inconsistent. These results suggest that prior claims regarding positive effects of reading fiction on mentalizing should be seen as tenuous; other mechanisms may be driving previously published effects.

Download Full-text

Theory of Mind in Mild Cognitive Impairment – Relationship with Limbic Structures and Behavioural Change

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617719000870 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (10) ◽

pp. 1023-1034 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Johannes C. Michaelian ◽

Loren Mowszowski ◽

Adam J. Guastella ◽

Julie D. Henry ◽

Shantel Duffy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Theory Of Mind ◽

Social Cognitive ◽

Behavioural Change ◽

Hippocampal Volume ◽

Control Group ◽

Social Cognitive Deficits ◽

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽

The Mind

AbstractObjectives:Older adults presenting with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have a higher risk of developing dementia and also demonstrate impairments in social cognition. This study sought to establish whether in people with MCI, poorer theory of mind (ToM) was associated with volumetric changes in the amygdala and hippocampus, as well as early changes in behaviour.Methods:One hundred and fourteen people with MCI and fifty-two older adult controls completed the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET), while close informants (e.g., spouse/family member/friend/carer) described any current behavioural changes using the Revised Cambridge Behavioural Inventory (CBI-R). A subsample of participants completed structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Results:The MCI group showed poorer performance on all neuropsychological tests administered, and moderate reductions on the RMET compared to the control group (d = .44), with greater reduction observed in those with amnestic compared to non-amnestic MCI (p = .03). While a robust correlation was identified between poorer RMET performance and smaller hippocampal volume in the control group (ρ = .53, p = .01), this relationship was not apparent in the MCI group (ρ = .21, p = .11). In the MCI group, poorer RMET performance was associated with poorer everyday skills (ρ = −.26, p = .01) assessed by the CBI-R.Conclusions:Our findings cross-validate previous reports that social cognitive deficits in ToM are a feature of MCI and also suggest that disruptions to broader neural networks are likely to be implicated. Furthermore, ToM deficits in MCI are associated with a decline in everyday skills such as writing or paying bills.

Download Full-text