The Evolution of Mentalising Lecture 1

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What is the definition of mentalising?
To predict and explain behaviour by invoking abstract concepts like mind, desire, think, remember
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What are associated abilities?
Imagination, Communication, social coordination, following gaze, understanding self
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What is social coordination?
Coordinating one's behaviour with the behaviour of other individuals is a fundamental feature of everyday social interaction
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What is following gaze?
Verbal communication, an idea of what people are saying by seeing what they are looking at, if someone is looking at something, they might be thinking about it
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What is understanding self?
Understand yourself, to distinguish your mind from another person's mind
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What is the evolutionary origin of mentalising?
Avoid saying things that are annoying/provocative to other people, finding food that someone already know where it is, this would lead to privileged status in society
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What disorder leads to a lack of theory of mind?
Autism
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What is autism?
A continuum, men could be placed on the bottom of the autism continuum which would explain why women have a better theory of mind than men. Many cases of autism in women might not be diagnosed
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Autism: Historical
The perplexing case of autism and asperger syndrome: Isaac Newton, wittgenstein, Hugh Blair of Bogue
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What is the unexpected transfer test?
While maxi is out playing, his mum takes the chocolate from the cupboard and grates some of it into a cake, Maxi is returning from play feeling hungry, he wants his chocolate
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What questions are asked?
Where will maxi look for his chocolate? Where did mum put his chocolate?
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What is the deceptive box test?
What is inside this tube? What is it? What will your friend Johnny say is inside? When you first saw this tube, before we opened it, what did you think was inside?
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How do you know if a child has a lack of theory of mind?
If the child says that they first thought there was a pencil inside the smarties tube after being shown the contents
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Butterworth Gaze direction
18 months, infants are highly proficient in tracking their mother's direction gaze, eye give information that is additional to what a person is saying
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What is mother instructed to do?
The mother is instructed to wait until she has eye contact with the baby, then shift eyes to any point in the room, to see if the babies eye contact would follow the mother's gaze
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Baldwin (1994)
A child was playing with a toy and adult said it is a Wug, the infant turned looked at the eyes of the adult then followed the gaze to the other toy
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What happened when the experimenter asked the child to pass the Wug?
They passed the toy they did not play with, instead passed the one that the adult was looking at
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What is another experiment to understand to the mind?
Mum puts bags of material, one in the cupboard and one in the drawer, John mixes up the bag, Mum asks the child to get a bag from the drawer, the child will say mum wants the bag in the cupboard instead
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Povinelli and Eddy (1996)
Chimps and can follow a gaze, however, a skeptic would argue that they take what the trainer can take and they can't see what a trainer can see
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What is the development of self knowledge?
Becoming aware that you are an agent of your own action, gender identity, shift from physical to psychological
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What is mirror self reflection?
Becoming aware that you are an agent of your own action: How do you know that the individual in the mirror is you?
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Povinelli et al, 1996
Is there an important difference between seeing a reflection of yourself and seeing a video recording of yourself
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When does mirror self reflection develop in children and chimps?
Develops in children from about the age of 18 months, develops in chimps from about the age of 8 years
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What do you know?
You know the kind of movements and actions that you are responsible for, therefore you recognise these movements as part of who you are. If you don’t have any recollection of actions you did, you would not recognise yourself
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What is the first stage of development?
Gender identification at three years: Can declare whether they are a boy or a girl
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What is stage 2?
Gender Permanence at 6 years: Can judge that gender is stable and enduring
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What are the components of gender identity?
Gender concept, learning gender appropriate behaviours and stereotypes, identifying with parents, developing gender preference
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Rosenberg (1967)
Say 10 things about yourself in answer to the question 'Who am I?'
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children aged around 10 years focus on what?
Their physical qualities.
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Where as adolescents focus on what?
Adolescents are more likely to mention aspects of their relationships with others, their character and their inner feelings
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If i asked you and your mother how good you were, and you said one thing and she said another, who would be right?
 70% of 10 yr olds said their mother would be right  60% of 15 yr olds said they would be right
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Locus of self knowledge: Interior category
Who knows best what your secrets are? Who knows best what gaes Tommy likes? Who knows best what you want to be when you grow up
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What is exterior category questions?
Who knows best how good you are at sums? Who knows best how well beth can sit still? Who knows best how fast you can run?
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What do Americans tend to do?
Talk about inner and enduring traits that transcend context and time period
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Where as what are Japanese more likely to do?
May give a myriad of answers supplying different details for different contexts. For example, I am serious at work but fun loving at home
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What are associated abilities?

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Imagination, Communication, social coordination, following gaze, understanding self

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What is social coordination?

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Card 4

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What is following gaze?

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Card 5

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What is understanding self?

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