scholarly journals Acquiring Epistemic Modal Auxiliaries: the Role of Theory of Mind

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-112
Author(s):  
Hannah N. M. De Mulder ◽  
Annette Gautero-Watzema
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Epistemic Modal ◽  
Modal Auxiliaries ◽  
Linguistic Ability ◽  
General Linguistic ◽  
Better Than

This study considers the acquisition of epistemic modal auxiliaries (EMA) in typically developing (TD) and autistic children and the role that Theory of Mind (ToM) plays in this development. Nineteen Dutch-speaking TD children and ten autistic children received tasks assessing ToM, general linguistic ability and EMA comprehension. Results suggest that both groups have some understanding of the Dutch EMA system, but no significant differences were found between groups. However, once participants were divided into ToM passers and ToM failers irrespective of clinical diagnosis, results showed that passers performed significantly better than failers on EMA understanding. Having a good understanding of others’ mental states, as evidenced by full marks on ToM tasks, thus seems important in the acquisition of EMA.

Theory of Mind in Autistic Children

2011 ◽  
pp. 167-179
Author(s):  
Tariq M. Khan
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Analogical Reasoning ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Learning Systems ◽  
Multimedia System ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Potential Benefits

The authors discuss how multimedia learning systems and analogical reasoning could be used to help autistic children cope with the demands of reasoning abstractly and to develop their Theory of Mind. Learners with autism have problems reasoning about other’s mental states and beliefs, which has been coined Theory of Mind. The specially developed systems proved beneficial for the autistic children, which highlights the potential benefits that a multimedia system can have as a learning tool for Theory of Mind. However, there is some doubt over the usefulness of interactivity for learning beyond its enhancement of enjoyment and sense of participation. It is intended that the results will stimulate a reassessment of current multimedia theories as they relate to non-typically developing learners, and provide new directions for research in the area of support for children with ASD.

Examining the Role of Language in Play Among Children With and Without Developmental Disabilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 795-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth J. Short ◽  
Rachael Cooper Schindler ◽  
Rita Obeid ◽  
Maia M. Noeder ◽  
Laura E. Hlavaty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Free Play ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Play Skills ◽  
Critical Aspect ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Better Than

Purpose Play is a critical aspect of children's development, and researchers have long argued that symbolic deficits in play may be diagnostic of developmental disabilities. This study examined whether deficits in play emerge as a function of developmental disabilities and whether our perceptions of play are colored by differences in language and behavioral presentations. Method Ninety-three children participated in this study (typically developing [TD]; n = 23, developmental language disorders [DLD]; n = 24, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]; n = 26, and autism spectrum disorder [ASD]; n = 20). Children were videotaped engaging in free-play. Children's symbolic play (imagination, organization, elaboration, and comfort) was scored under conditions of both audible language and no audible language to assess diagnostic group differences in play and whether audible language impacted raters' perception of play. Results Significant differences in play were evident across diagnostic groups. The presence of language did not alter play ratings for the TD group, but differences were found among the other diagnostic groups. When language was audible, children with DLD and ASD (but not ADHD) were scored poorly on play compared to their TD peers. When language was not audible, children with DLD were perceived to play better than when language was audible. Conversely, children with ADHD showed organizational deficits when language was not available to support their play. Finally, children with ASD demonstrated poor play performance regardless of whether language was audible or not. Conclusions Language affects our understanding of play skills in some young children. Parents, researchers, and clinicians must be careful not to underestimate or overestimate play based on language presentation. Differential skills in language have the potential to unduly influence our perceptions of play for children with developmental disabilities.

scholarly journals Designing good deception: Recursive theory of mind in lying and lie detection

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren A. Oey ◽  
Adena Schachner ◽  
Edward Vul
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Stochastic Game ◽  
Lie Detection ◽  
Ground Truth ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Human Ability ◽  
Formal Framework ◽  
Recursive Theory ◽  
Better Than

The human ability to deceive others and detect deception has long been tied to theory of mind. We make a stronger argument: in order to be adept liars – to balance gain (i.e. maximizing their own reward) and plausibility (i.e. maintaining a realistic lie) – humans calibrate their lies under the assumption that their partner is a rational, utility-maximizing agent. We develop an adversarial recursive Bayesian model that aims to formalize the behaviors of liars and lie detectors. We compare this model to (1) a model that does not perform theory of mind computations and (2) a model that has perfect knowledge of the opponent’s behavior. To test these models, we introduce a novel dyadic, stochastic game, allowing for quantitative measures of lies and lie detection. In a second experiment, we vary the ground truth probability. We find that our rational models qualitatively predict human lying and lie detecting behavior better than the non-rational model. Our findings suggest that humans control for the extremeness of their lies in a manner reflective of rational social inference. These findings provide a new paradigm and formal framework for nuanced quantitative analysis of the role of rationality and theory of mind in lying and lie detecting behavior.

scholarly journals Cognitive and affective Theory of Mind in adolescence: developmental aspects and associated neuropsychological variables

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edith Theresa Gabriel ◽  
Raphaela Oberger ◽  
Michaela Schmoeger ◽  
Matthias Deckert ◽  
Stefanie Vockh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Late Adolescents ◽  
Affective Processes ◽  
Neuropsychological Tasks ◽  
Neuropsychological Variables

Abstract Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to represent and attribute mental states to oneself and others. So far, research regarding ToM processing across adolescence is scarce. Existing studies either yield inconsistent results or did not or not thoroughly investigate aspects like higher order ToM and associated neuropsychological variables which the current study tried to address. 643 typically developing early, middle, and late adolescents (age groups 13–14; 15–16; 17–18) performed cognitive and affective ToM tasks as well as neuropsychological tasks tapping the cognitive or affective domain. Regarding both ToM types, 15- to 16-year-olds and 17- to 18-year-olds outperformed 13- to 14-year-olds, whereas females were superior regarding cognitive ToM. Across adolescence, cognitive and affective ToM correlated with attention and affective intelligence, whereas working memory, language comprehension, and figural intelligence additionally correlated with cognitive ToM. In early adolescence, attention correlated with both ToM types, whereas cognitive ToM further correlated with language comprehension and affective ToM with verbal intelligence, verbal fluency, and verbal flexibility. In middle and late adolescence, affective intelligence correlated with both ToM types, whereas cognitive ToM additionally correlated with working memory, language comprehension, and figural intelligence. The current study shows a developmental step regarding cognitive and affective ToM in middle adolescence as well as gender differences in cognitive ToM processing. Associations between neuropsychological variables and ToM processing were shown across adolescence and within age groups. Results give new insights into social cognition in adolescence and are well supported by neuroscientific and neurobiological studies regarding ToM and the integration of cognitive and affective processes. Graphic abstract

scholarly journals The role of age, theory of mind, and linguistic ability in children’s understanding of ownership

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. e0206591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine H. McDermott ◽  
Nicholaus S. Noles
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Linguistic Ability

scholarly journals Importance of language for children’s theory of mind: Comparison of verbal and nonverbal theory of mind tasks

Psihologija ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 23-23
Author(s):  
Sanja Simlesa ◽  
Kaja Hacin ◽  
Maja Cepanec ◽  
Jasmina Ivsac-Pavlisa
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Mental States ◽  
False Belief ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
The Past ◽  
Verbal Tasks

The ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others, known as the theory of mind (ToM), has been widely researched over the past 40 years, along with its relation to language comprehension. However, a majority of the research on the relation between ToM and language used only verbal tasks assessing false belief understanding as a measure of ToM. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the relation between language and ToM, using a larger battery of ToM measures, with different language demands. A total of 203 typically developing children between 46 and 68 months of age, with average nonverbal cognitive skills, were assessed using language comprehension and ToM tasks. The language aspect was assessed using the Reynell Developmental Language Scales (Language Comprehension scale A). To assess ToM, verbal and non-verbal tasks were taken from the ToM subtest of the NEPSY-II. Results indicated a significant correlation between language comprehension and verbal and non-verbal ToM measures. Hierarchical regression showed that language comprehension was a significant predictor for children's performance on both verbal and non-verbal ToM tasks. Specifically, language comprehension affected ToM, regardless of the language demands of the ToM tasks. However, language comprehension was a stronger predictor for verbal than non-verbal ToM tasks. The results of this study contribute to the view that the relation between language and ToM is fundamental and exceeds the features of specific tasks.

6.  Mental State Decoding in Dysphoric Individuals: The Role of Motivation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke Sinclair
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Social Motivation ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Clinical Conditions ◽  
Decoding Ability

Depression is associated with pervasive impairments in social and interpersonal functioning. Research demonstrates that individuals with depression have difficulty interacting with peers and show lower levels of social activity than do nondepressed individuals (Levendosky, Okun, & Parker, 1995). In addition, depressed individuals report that their social interactions are less supportive and less rewarding than those of non‐depressed individuals (Nezlek, Hamptom, & Shean, 2000). This reduced social competence may cause depressed individuals to disengage from social interaction, which may in turn exacerbate their state of depression (Rippere, 1980). It is thus important to understand and identify the mechanisms beneath these deficits.  Researchers commonly use the theory of mind framework to understand impaired social functioning in clinical conditions. Theory of mind refers to the ability to make judgments about others’ mental states to understand and predict their social behaviour. Research has found a relationship between theory of mind and dysphoria (i.e., elevated scores on a measure of depression symptoms, but not necessarily a diagnosis of clinical depression). Specifically, dysphoric individuals demonstrate enhanced mental state judgments (Harkness, Sabbagh, Jacobson, Chowdrey, & Chen, 2005).  My research investigates social motivation as an underlying mechanism for dysphoric individuals’ enhanced decoding ability. A sample of undergraduates will participate in a theory of mind decoding task following social, monetary or no motivation. I hypothesize that dysphoric individuals will make significantly more accurate judgments than non‐dysphoric individuals. Further, I predict that social motivation will enhance non‐dysphoric individuals’ sensitivity to others’ mental states.

Animation, Theory of Mind and Humanoid Robots: Creating a Social Robot Video Task

Leonardo ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Ziggy O’Reilly ◽  
David Silvera-Tawil ◽  
Ionat Zurr ◽  
Diana Tan
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Humanoid Robots ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Social Robot ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Robot Assisted

Abstract Theory of Mind (ToM) —a social cognitive ability commonly under-developed in autistic individuals— is necessary to attribute mental states to oneself and others. Research into robot-assisted interventions to improve ToM ability in autistic children has become increasingly popular. However, no appropriate task currently exists to measure the degree of efficacy of robot-assisted interventions targeting ToM ability. In this paper, the authors demonstrate how animation techniques and principles can be leveraged to develop and produce videos of humanoid robots interacting, which could selectively measure ToM.

Theory of mind in naturalistic conversations between autistic and typically developing children and adolescents

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Alkire ◽  
Kathryn A. McNaughton ◽  
Heather Yarger ◽  
Deena Shariq ◽  
Elizabeth Redcay
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Crucial Component ◽  
Mental State Language ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties ◽  
And Gender

Successful social interactions are assumed to depend on theory of mind (ToM)—the ability to represent others’ mental states—yet most studies of the relation between ToM and social-interactive success rely on non-interactive tasks that do not adequately capture the spontaneous engagement of ToM, a crucial component of everyday social interactions. We addressed this gap by establishing a novel observational rating scale to measure the spontaneous use of ToM (or lack thereof) within naturalistic conversations (conversational ToM, or cToM). In 50 age- and gender-matched dyads of autistic and typically developing children aged 8–16, we assessed cToM during 5-minute, unstructured conversations. We found that ratings on the cToM Negative scale, reflecting ToM-related violations of conversational norms, were negatively associated with two forms of non-interactive ToM: visual-affective and spontaneous. In contrast, the cToM Positive scale, reflecting explicit mental state language and perspective-taking, was not associated with these non-interactive ToM abilities. Furthermore, autistic participants were rated higher than typically developing participants on cToM Negative, but the two groups were rated similarly on cToM Positive. Together, these findings provide insight into multiple aspects of ToM in conversation and reveal a nuanced picture of the relative strengths and difficulties among autistic individuals.

The Challenging Role of Theory of Mind in the Mothers of Children with Attention Deficit - Hyperactivity Disorder

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azar Mohammadzadeh ◽  
Anahita Khorrami Banadaki ◽  
Atefeh Nezamolslami
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Performance Test ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Continuous Performance Test ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Neurocognitive Performance ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Adhd Children

Background: While theory of mind (ToM) deficit is frequently reported in children and adult with ADHD, there is no study investigating characteristics of ToM in their parents. This study aimed to investigate understanding intentionality as an important component of ToM ability in ADHD mothers and typically developing children’s mothers.   Methods: Through available sampling, (50 mothers), 23 ADHD’s mothers were compared to 27 age and IQ matched typically developing children’s mothers. All participants were assessed using the Animated Triangle Task for ToM performance and the Conners’ Continuous Performance Test (CPT) to evaluate neurocognitive performance. The Mann–Whitney and t-test were used as data analysis methods to examine differences between two groups. Results: poor performance of ADHD mothers was at ToM task. (p < 0.001) However, no significant difference was found between the two groups of mothers in CPT-II performance (p > 0.001). Performance of ToM was not significantly associated with CPT-II. Conclusions: ADHD mothers may have deficits in understanding intentionality. The findings suggest that researchers pay more attention to recognizing social cognition and social communication characteristics of the parents of ADHD children. It seems that using specific training programs for the parents of ADHD children to achieve ToM capacities can contribute to the pro motion of their children’s social development.

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