Theory of Mind (ToM) Task
A Theory of Mind (ToM) Task is a cognitive task that requires the recognition and the description of another cognitive agent's mental state.
- Context:
- It can (often) involve participants interpreting stories, animations, or images that require them to recognize the characters' mental states.
- It can range from being a Primary Theory of Mind to being a Secondary of Theory of Mind.
- It can be solved by a Theory of Mind System.
- It can be an input to a ToM Measure.
- It is often used in research and clinical settings to measure Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities.
- It can range from being a Adult ToM Test, to being a Child ToM Test, to being a Mentally Disabled ToM Test, depending on the type of individual is being tested.
- ...
- Example(s):
- a Photo Interpretation Task, such as: "Based on this photo of her encounter with her ex's girlfriend, what was Mary's mental state?.
- a False Belief Task, such as: "Does Sally know where the ball is?"
- a Sally-Anne Task, such as: "Where will Sally look for her marble?"
- a Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, such as: "What emotion is the person in this picture likely feeling?"
- ...
- Counter-Example(s):
- a Memory Recall Task, because it requires the retrieval of previously learned information.
- a Problem Solving Task, because it requires a plan.
- an Empathy Task, requires the feeling of another's Cognitive State.
- See: Self-Perception, Self Knowledge, Emotional Intelligence, Intention, Role-Playing, Autism Spectrum, Social Cognition.
References
2023
- (Wikipedia, 2023) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_mind Retrieved:2023-3-24.
- In psychology, theory of mind refers to the capacity to understand other people by ascribing mental states to them (that is, surmising what is happening in their mind). This includes the knowledge that others' mental states may be different from one's own states and include beliefs, desires, intentions, emotions, and thoughts. Possessing a functional theory of mind is considered crucial for success in everyday human social interactions. People use such a theory when analyzing, judging, and inferring others' behaviors. The discovery and development of theory of mind primarily came from studies done with animals and infants.[1] Factors including drug and alcohol consumption, language development, cognitive delays, age, and culture can affect a person's capacity to display theory of mind. It has been proposed that deficits in theory of mind can occur in people with autism, anorexia nervosa, schizophrenia, dysphoria, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cocaine addiction, and brain damage caused by alcohol's neurotoxicity; deficits associated with opiate addiction are reversed after prolonged abstinence. Having a theory of mind is similar to but not identical with having the capacity for empathy or for sympathy.
Theory of mind develops throughout childhood as the prefrontal cortex develops. The violation-of-expectation procedure uses infants' tendency to look longer at unexpected and surprising events. Most typically developing children are able to pass the False-belief task from around age four. Children from Iran and China in a culture of collectivism develop knowledge access earlier and understand diverse beliefs later than Western children in a culture of individualism.[2]
Neuroimaging shows brain regions engaged during theory of mind include the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and area around posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), and sometimes precuneus and amygdala/temporopolar cortex. Patients with frontal lobe or temporoparietal junction lesions find some theory of mind tasks difficult.
Many researchers focus on animals' understanding of intention, gaze, perspective, or knowledge. A study showed orangutans and chimpanzees understood the difference between accidental and intentional acts. William Field and Sue Savage-Rumbaugh believe that bonobos have developed theory of mind.
Theory of mind is distinct from philosophy of mind, which is about the basic nature of the mind and how the brain enables it.
- In psychology, theory of mind refers to the capacity to understand other people by ascribing mental states to them (that is, surmising what is happening in their mind). This includes the knowledge that others' mental states may be different from one's own states and include beliefs, desires, intentions, emotions, and thoughts. Possessing a functional theory of mind is considered crucial for success in everyday human social interactions. People use such a theory when analyzing, judging, and inferring others' behaviors. The discovery and development of theory of mind primarily came from studies done with animals and infants.[1] Factors including drug and alcohol consumption, language development, cognitive delays, age, and culture can affect a person's capacity to display theory of mind. It has been proposed that deficits in theory of mind can occur in people with autism, anorexia nervosa, schizophrenia, dysphoria, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cocaine addiction, and brain damage caused by alcohol's neurotoxicity; deficits associated with opiate addiction are reversed after prolonged abstinence. Having a theory of mind is similar to but not identical with having the capacity for empathy or for sympathy.
2023
- (Bubeck et al., 2023) ⇒ Sébastien Bubeck, Varun Chandrasekaran, Ronen Eldan, Johannes Gehrke, Eric Horvitz, Ece Kamar, Peter Lee, Yin Tat Lee, Yuanzhi Li, Scott Lundberg, Harsha Nori, Hamid Palangi, Marco Tulio Ribeiro, and Yi Zhang. (2023). “Sparks of Artificial General Intelligence: Early Experiments with GPT-4.” In: arXiv:2303.12712 [cs.CL]
- QUOTE: ... Theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states such as beliefs, emotions, desires, intentions, and knowledge to oneself and others, and to understand how they affect behavior and communication [Wel92].
...
2016
- (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/theory_of_mind Retrieved:2016-9-19.
2011
- (Bering, 2011) ⇒ Jesse Bering. (2011). “The Belief Instinct: The Psychology of Souls, Destiny, and the Meaning of Life." W. W. Norton & Company.
- QUOTE: Bering traces all of these beliefs and desires to a single trait of human psychology, known as the “theory of mind," which enables us to guess at the intentions and thoughts of others.
2009
- (Berg-Cross, 2009) ⇒ Gary Berg-Cross. (2009). “Is An Agent Theory of Mind (ToM) Valuable for Adaptive, Intelligent Systems?.” In: Proceedings of the 9th Workshop on Performance Metrics for Intelligent Systems. doi:10.1145/1865909.1865936
- QUOTE: A Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to reasoning about the mental states of self and others. Empathy, the concept of putting yourself in another person’s shoes and relating to his situation, is a good example of theory of mind at work.