“Theory of mind” is a concept that describes one’s ability to attribute “beliefs, desires, emotions, perceptions, and intentions to self and others in order to understand and predict behavior” (Lantz, 2002). In simpler terms, it is the understanding that other people may feel the same way (or completely differently, for that matter) about something that you or I may feel.
A 1985 study by well-known autism researcher Simon Baron-Cohen, postulated that those living with autism lack this “theory.” The study hypothesized that, if this were so, then those with autism “would be unable to impute beliefs to others and to predict their behavior” (Baron-Cohen, Leslie & Frith. p. 37). In order to confirm that the deficit is specific to autism,
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Conversely, the children diagnosed with autism failed the Belief question at a rate of 80%, consistently pointing to the exact location of the marble, not simply a random “wrong place.” Since every child in the study answered the control questions correctly, the experimenters concluded that those with autism, as a group, typically fail to employ theory of mind.
Of course, they further determined that those with autism who passed the Belief question would likely present differently in social situations. They concluded that this subset would deserve additional
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It was how I was first introduced to the concept, and the results are always intriguing. In the autism world, this study has been cemented as the defining research regarding theory of mind in autism. However, I found some of the information dated. For instance, on Page 38, the study claims that “the majority of autistic children are mentally retarded.” Certainly, when taking the definitive IQ deviations, significant learning skills deficits, and onset before the age of 18 into consideration, then by definition, many with autism could be called “mentally retarded.” However, when seeing academic progress, and successful social and life skills adaptations first hand, I have a hard time associating autism with mental retardation. In fact, this allusion is one of the many hot debates in the autism community. Also, the study noted that autism is a rare condition (Page 37). In 1985, it was rare, with only 4 in 10,000 individuals being diagnosed; today, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that number is 1:68, much less rare. Further reducing the scarcity of autism is the prevalence of exposure to the condition. I rarely meet a person today who doesn’t know of someone with autism, and every TV network and movie producer has tried to incorporate autism into their
Before completing the assignment of reading “Thinking in Pictures,” by Temple Grandin, I did not have much knowledge about autism. My only understanding was autism was some sort of neurological disorder that is seen similar to mentally handicapped individuals to someone with little understanding, like myself. I am very thankful to have been given an assignment like this one that gives me more knowledge of something I should already have in my line of work (though I am sure that was the whole purpose of the assignment, to educate the ignorant). I now have a better understanding of the cause, learning process and functioning of different levels of this defect.
Those with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) see the world in a diverse way; teachers and adults need to recognize this. Robison gives examples of his childhood where he misinterpreted information from others including social cues, as well as instructions. He was in these situations punished either socially or academically.
Ramachandran, Vilayanur S., and Lindsay S. Oberman. "Broken Mirrors: A Theory of Autism." Scientific American Journal. (2006): 62-69. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.
Part of the disruption in communication and social interaction that occurs with many individuals who have autism can be better explained by the Theory of Mind and Executive Function Theory. These two theories are very similar in nature in that they both place great emphasis on the executive function of the mind. Executive functions are “cognitive abilities that appear to depend on the prefrontal cortex” of the brain (Pinel, 2014, p. 349). Executive function also encompasses “innovative thinking, lateral thinking, insightful thinking, and assimilating new information to update plans and strategies” (Pinel, 2014, p. 349). This is significant because the executive function of the brain can impact one’s ability to empathize and relate to others, interpret and sustain social interactions, and process new information (Williams et al, 2014). Many times individuals with autism are unable to understand and process what others are feeling. For example, they can recognize sadness or when somebody is crying, but they do not associate with it. It’s not that they don’t feel these emotions themselves, they absolutely do. However, they may have trouble connecting and relating to those feelings when they see somebody else experiencing them. This can result in difficulty in making and sustaining relationships with
Cognitive challenges also exist when counseling children with ASD as they have difficulty distinguishing their own mind from somebody else’s, this is known as theory of mind (Woods et al., 2013). Counselors should address deficiencies in theory of mind as the lack of knowledge in others feelings and empathy causes challenges across all social contexts for children. While there are a numerous factors to consider when providing therapy for children with ASD, therapeutic interventions are crucial to the development of social skills as well as adaptive emotional and behavioral responses in social settings.
Attempts to view how the acceptance of autism, or how it is perceived in communities has been more readily available. Race as a factor in terms of how it differs between the individuals is important. This is because we do know is that different races in general have different levels of understanding when it comes to Autism. Importance of certain social skills is varied based on cultural background and gender of the individual. This point is not to be ignored because, the weight of importance by different societies and cultures social skills will
De Martino, B., Harrison, N. A., Knafo, S., Bird, G., & Dolan, R. J. (2008). Explaining enhanced logical consistency during decision making in autism. Journal of Neuroscience, 28, 10746-10750.
The issue of whether or not children with autistic disorders should be main-streamed, or placed in the same classrooms as non-autistic children, has been a very real concern for quite some time. While the debate is continuous, people often choose to side on a particular position of the argument without correctly evaluating all of the options. Should autistic children be main-streamed in regular classrooms, or should they be placed in self contained environments? Or, possibly, should a common ground be determined?
“The Benefits of Skinner's Analysis of Verbal Behavior for Children with Autism” Behav Modif., by Sundberg, ML, and Michael J., published in 2001, summarized Oct 19, 2006
Describe what evolutionary psychologists mean when they employ the term ‘theory of mind’. Use examples and research studies from Book 1, Chapter 2 to show why this theory is important in evolutionary psychology.
Andrews, K. (2002). Interpreting autism: a critique of Davidson on thought and language. Philosophical Psychology, 15(3). Retrieved from:
The number of children that display autistic traits keeps rising and the need for services is at an all-time high. Out of 10,000 children born, 60 to 100 children and families will be affected by autistic spectrum disorder (Gulberg, 2010). Autism is characterized by a lack of connection to other people, even parents, and an avoidance of interpersonal situations (Feldman, 2011). Children with autism also show limited, repetitive and stereotypical patterns of behavior, interest, and activities. Not one child with autism is the same as the next; each child has their own severity and indicators of autism. A child with intellectual disabilities and a gifted child can both be given the diagnosis of being on the autism spectrum, because of the wide range of severities. Many of these children will not attend special schools, but instead be included in the general education population by inclusion. Inclusion has been found to have a number of benefits for children with autism. In addition, negative perspectives have also come into play when discussing autism and inclusion. Furthermore, parents have the right to make decisions for their child on an individual basis.
One can say or try and dissect the brain and try to figure what’s going on inside of it and that’s what Philophers today try to do that. Why is that why must the brain be dissected? This question is raised for the simple fact that Philophers really want to know why whats going on the human brain. This can also go back to “knowing” and believing in something. We will also take a look into emotion with a emphisis on facil expressions. Reading the human face could be a difficult task. Last but not least I will talk about the Philosphy of life and why it is important to have an outreach like that in life, futhermore this has an emphese on belief. Learning a lot this busy semester the topics above will be though out and discussed so that we can get a better understand of each of them.
Gilbert Ryle’s The Concept of Mind (1949) is a critique of the notion that the mind is distinct from the body, and is a rejection of the philosophical theory that mental states are distinct from physical states. Ryle argues that the traditional approach to the relation of mind and body (i.e., the approach which is taken by the philosophy of Descartes) assumes that there is a basic distinction between Mind and Matter. According to Ryle, this assumption is a basic 'category-mistake,' because it attempts to analyze the relation betwen 'mind' and 'body' as if they were terms of the same logical category. Furthermore, Ryle argues that traditional Idealism makes a basic 'category-mistake' by trying to reduce physical reality to the same status as mental reality, and that Materialism makes a basic 'category-mistake' by trying to reduce mental reality to the same status as physical reality.
Satisficing is a way of making decisions by looking at all available avenues until a threshold of acceptability is met (Simon, 1976). The term satisficing, created by Herbert Simon in 1956, was billed as a way for decision makers to find satisfactory answers in the real world. It is most useful in scenarios where an optimal solution cannot be determined and thus multiple solutions may need to be tested. One of the first keys to understanding satisficing is knowing that it works in, “bounded rationality” (Radner, 1975). Bounded rationality requires three things hold true in order for satisficing to work, which are, “1) existence of goals, (2) search for improvement, and (3) long-run success” (Radner, 1975).