Theory of Mind Essay

Further research has compared the results of the false belief task with executive functioning skills. Executive functioning is the capability to allow people to manage their thoughts and actions. One such test that psychologists have used to measure executive functioning is the bear-dragon task (Carlson and Moses, 2001, cited in Hewson, 2015). Using two puppets the child has to ignore one and copy the instructions (for example, pat your head) of the other. This is said to test conflict inhibition, which is the capability to contain reactions to stimuli when it is not suitable to do so. Therefore, if the child failed on a false belief task, they would probably fail executive functioning tasks. Evidence has shown (Apperly, 2011 cited Hewson, 2015) that this seems to be the case, but language skills could also play a part in the child’s understanding of both false belief and executive functioning. It also has been argued that the child’s own knowledge or lack of knowledge guides their answer. Therefore, psychology has helped to explain different aspects of ToM abilities. Furthermore, it shows how it is difficult to measure ToM with one simple study.

Outline the Processes Involved in Evolution and Discuss how Evolutionary Psychologists have Contributed to our Understanding of

They provide a background to our native history, present a real-life problem, which connects back to the history they supply, and offer a solution. They constantly refer to the theory of evolution and natural selection. Questions about how the human mind evolved have been around ever since Charles Darwin presented his of natural selection in 1859 with The Origin of Species. He hypothesized about where human thought and emotion came from, but his data concerned the bodies (not the minds) of distant human relatives. At around the same time, Gregor Mendel discovered that characteristics were passed from parents to offspring through genes. In 1953, their discoveries were combined with the James Watson and Francis Crick’s discovery of the structure of DNA: genes were shown to be patterns of DNA that serve as blueprints for the organism’s physical traits. A few decades later, evolutionary biologists began to connect how genes translate not only to physical traits but also into human behavior. However, few actually use the results of evolutionary psychology to improve

In these lands, natural selection is law. These natives trust that, much like how physical attributes have evolved over time, mental abilities have as well. They study how behavior has changed over time to benefit survival. They have argued that humans have evolved mental capabilities for specific adaptations such as forming languages, and being able to determine which mates are healthier or stronger.

The most compelling theory of mind to me so far has been Churchland’s arguments for eliminative materialism. Churchland argues for eliminative materialism, which contends that our common sense psychological framework is incorrect, and should be rejected (Essentially that many of the mental states I believe in do not exist and will not likely correspond well with biological processes). Though I at first found this claim startling, Churchland’s rhetoric and presentation of his argument is clear and he effectively supports his argument that eliminative materialism is more likely to be true than other theories of the mind by appealing at times to neuroscience and arguing that what mankind needs to successfully explain the mind is beyond our reach.

However, the mind compromises of “hundreds or thousands” of “genetically specified” modules that ancestors encountered diversity array of adaptive problems, each adaptive problem “domain” needs its own “domain specific” solution. No single “domain-general” psychological mechanism could successfully solve various adaptive problems. Thus, a psychological mechanism evolved for each distinct adaptive problem ancestors faced. Cosmides and Tooby supports this argument ‘‘a woman who

Evolution or trade over the years takes place through the methods of natural and sexual selection. In response to troubles in our environment, we adapt each physically and psychologically to ensure our survival and replica. Sexual selection principle describes how evolution has shaped us to provide a mating advantage rather than just a survival advantage and happens via two wonderful pathways: intrasexual competition and intersexual choice. Gene choice concept, the modern rationalization behind evolutionary biology, takes place thru the desire for gene replication. Evolutionary psychology connects evolutionary ideas with present day psychology and focuses in general on mental variations: adjustments within the manner we think with the intention to enhance our survival.

The blank slate is then filled with ideas and facts through ways of interaction and socialization with each other in various societies that we live in. Culture and traditions of people around us also influence the formation and structure of the brain from its inceptive young blank state to its full-blown maturity after some period. The book also relies on some popular dogma of evolutionary psychology and the sciences of behavioral genetics to build cases on the working of the brain and the core human habits and behaviors. The reasoning in the Blank Slate as already indicated is illuminated by a vast knowledge of science and also references to a good chunk of culture together with personal allusions of some real life

Many research has been done to study the milestones in human development. It allows us to measure cognitive development, thence allowing us to design a suitable education system. An important area of research is the ability to interpret others’ behaviours. The Theory of Mind (ToM) is predominantly the ability to acknowledge other individuals’s true and false beliefs (Wellman, Cross, & Watson, 2001). The false belief task, arguably the most intensely studied aspect of ToM, was designed to test whether a child can distinguish between his or her mental states, such as thoughts and desires, from others (Symons D.K., 2011). False Belief Understanding (FBU) entails having the ability to attribute mental states to others to predict their behaviour.

Philosophy of the mind is an extremely interesting topic that has been speculated for years and still is able to leave researchers without a complete answer. Its complex origins and explanations to how the mind operates and behaves is one of the, if not the, most confusing aspects to humans and other species. Several researchers have taken various stances in order to attempt at rectifying how it all works and what is controlled by their definitions, but many answers have yet to be accepted as concrete. Two of the more popular theories that analyze cognition, the mind, and folk psychology overall include Dennett’s intentional stance and Churchland’s eliminativism stance.

The theory of mind or ToM is the instinctive ability to perceive yourself and recognize that others have their own minds just like ours, but they might think and believe different things. This perception is thought to develop within the early years of infancy and continue to develop through adulthood (Alic). This ability should allow someone to perceive another's intentions and thoughts, and possibly be able to assume what they are going to do or what they're going to think. ToM goes hand in hand with cognitive learning, including language, social skills, and the ability to manipulate others (Alic). It has been believed since famous psychologist Piaget proposed that ecocentrism, or the ability to differ your own view points from other's, isn't

The core concepts involved in Theory of Mind are beliefs, desires, and intentions, which are used to understand why someone acts in a certain way or to predict how someone will act (Kloo et al., 2010). Overall, Theory of Mind involves understanding another person's knowledge, beliefs, emotions, and intentions and using that understanding to navigate social situations. A commonly used task to measure Theory of Mind is a false-belief task, such as this:

Darwinism suggests that the environment constantly selects the individuals who are best able to survive in particular environment. Over thousands of year’s natural environment changes and variations produced an endless amount of geographical changes which lead to continuous evolution of thousands of species. In his literature such as ‘The Descent of Man’ Darwin raised an argument whether human beings descended from animal ancestors. In ‘The Expression of Emotions’ Darwin compared human emotions with animal emotions and stated that it reveals human evolutionary “animal” past. Numerous comparisons of human and animal provided foundation and rationale for comparative psychology. Many great psychologists’ researches were influenced by Darwin’s

The stability of the mind is uncertain in the medical field. Even though researches about how the mind works has helped us developed a better understanding about the human mind and its behavior, they have failed to give us a complete and knowledgeable concrete answer to all the questions of its deep studies. The human mind is still a very abroad subject to medicine. What makes a mind stable and what triggers mental illnesses is a question that will still be unknown to the medical field for more years to come. The understanding of the mind is a quest that has started since the beginning of human civilization and it has not stopped. The mind is an organ of its own, and it develops its own unique style of evolution through time. It is a very small organ that is responsible for the function of the human body. All our functions come from there, the way we speak, think and behave. As all other organs, it also has its own illnesses that for many centuries we have tried to understand. The illness of the mind still has no cure and what science has found only contributes to the temporary solution, but not the cure of the illness. One of the most severe forms of mental illness is Schizophrenia. This illness has tormented people since the beginning of history. Schizophrenia, the illness that is still very mysterious to medicine; the symptoms, the cause, diagnosis, types of schizophrenia and the medication are not the solutions for a lasting illness.

The theory of mind is the ability to mentally represent mental states that cannot be observed and is also not taught to young children at all. However, researchers have found ways to test for this cognitive ability through false- belief test, such as the Sally Anne test and sponge/ rock task (Baron-Cohen, Leslie & Frith, 1985). False- belief is an epistemic state that