Understanding%20of%20Others

1

• Understanding of Others
• Two Aspects of Self
• Public Self Self that others can see
• Private Self Inner, reflective self not
  available to others

2

• When are children aware of both aspects of self?
• Awareness of private self implies an awareness of
  mental states such as desires and beliefs that
• Are not accessible to others
• Guide behavior
• Awareness of mental states is critical for
  understanding others

3

• Naïve Psychology
• A commonsense level of understanding of other
  people (and oneself)

4

• Naïve psychology includes concepts that are used
  to understand human behavior
• Ex Why did Jimmy go to Billys house?
• Desires (He wanted to play with Billy)
• Beliefs (He thought Billy was at home)

5

• We apply these concepts to explain other peoples
  behavior (and our own)
• Desires and beliefs motivate actions
• These concepts are invisible
• Cant see a belief or a desire (or other mental
  states like intentions, emotions, etc.)

6

• Development of a Theory of Mind
• Between 2 and 5 years, construct a theory of mind
  (TOM)
• Part of naïve psychology

7

• Theory of Mind
• A basic understanding of how the mind works and
  how it influences behavior
• Ex Desires and beliefs produce actions

8

• Between about 2 and 3 years, children
• Talk about mental states (e.g., feelings,
  desires)
• Understand that desires can influence actions
• Dont understand that beliefs may also influence
  actions
• Treat beliefs as accurate views of reality that
  everyone shares
• Dont appreciate that beliefs can vary across
  people and may be inaccurate

9

• False Belief Tasks
• Test a childs understanding that other peoples
  actions will be based on their own beliefs, even
  when the child knows that other peoples beliefs
  are incorrect
• 3-year-olds typically fail false belief tasks
• By age 5, children pass false belief tasks