Theory of Mind and understanding of graphical depictions of mental content ("thought bubbles")

Authors

  • Eduardo B. Ottoni
  • Cláudia Fernanda Rodriguez
  • Janaína Corazza Barreto

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/psi.v10i2.7679

Keywords:

Theory of Mind, thought bubbles, false belief

Abstract

 

The ontogeny of the Theory of Mind (attribution of thoughts and mental contents to other people) was studied using the graphic depiction of “thought bubbles”, examining indicators of different developmental stages, such as the understanding of “false  beliefs” (mental contents conflicting among themselves or with reality) and of higher-order representations (thoughts about thoughts). Children aged from 3 to 13 years answered questions about “thought versus reality” (contrast between the properties of real objects and the privacy of thoughts), different thoughts about the same object (possibility of different people having different ideas about something whose actual nature is unknown), false belief (understanding that others may hold an incorrect representation, when the correct one is known) and 2nd and 3rd order representations. The understanding of graphical depictions of mental content was first significantly observed around 5 years of age, and becomes established at 7. Understanding of situations involving “false belief” was observed, in some cases, between 4 and 5 years, and was widespread among 9-year-olds – the age when they start being able to verbally describe 2nd and 3rd order representations.

Keywords: Theory of Mind; thought bubbles; false belief.

 

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How to Cite

Ottoni, E. B., Rodriguez, C. F., & Barreto, J. C. (2006). Theory of Mind and understanding of graphical depictions of mental content ("thought bubbles"). Interação Em Psicologia, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.5380/psi.v10i2.7679

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 2 (2006)

Section

Articles

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