Human Growth and Development / Unit 5 HGD 0628 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Theory of Mind and False Belief
The idea
Theory of mind is understanding that other people have beliefs, desires and perspectives different from one's own. It is often tested with the false-belief task. A child watches a character put a ball in a basket and leave; a second character moves it to a box. Asked where the first character will look, children with theory of mind say the basket, where the character wrongly believes it is. Most children pass at about four or five.
In practice
A three-year-old pointing to the box, where the ball really is, and a five-year-old pointing to the basket.
Where people slip
A false belief is a belief that does not match reality, and the task tests whether a child understands that others can hold one. Theory of mind has several parts on different timelines: two-year-olds understand that people want different things, while hiding one's real feelings is often not understood until middle childhood. Children with siblings, especially older ones, tend to pass earlier.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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