Theory of Mind Essay

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

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

The biological perspective of psychology sees behaviour as a consequence of our biological structure, focusing on, for example, neurotransmitters, the brain and genetics. This perspective came about as an attempt to understand two issues: the influence of heredity on behaviour, and the relationship between mind and body (Glassman and Hadad, 2008). Biological psychologists analyse behaviour in terms of both underlying structure and function, and relationships between environment and organism. It was Charles Darwin (1859) who first demonstrated that genetics and evolution influence human behaviour, arguably kick-starting

Charles Darwin is regarded as one of the most important and influential scientists in history. He created the theory of evolution and natural selection. His theory of evolution not only revolutionized science, but also changed the field of psychology. His theory provides the background for thinking about human behavior. The experiments and tests that Darwin carried out using data from diverse species is known as the comparative method, which is one of the most important methods in evolutionary psychology. All aspects of the form we view ourselves and our attitude has been touched in some by Darwin’s impact on psychology (Montgomery). Charles Darwin’s work has transformed psychology, allowing many different methods to be integrated. Although

Although Charles Darwin is usually just looked at in the light of purely biology, his work that impacted other fields such as psychology or his work that lead to the rapid expansion of certain fields such as ethology, is often looked over. Darwin’s work impacted these fields both directly and indirectly at such a level of influence that some people believe that psychology should be looked at as pre- and post-Darwin. On the Origin of Species, while being primarily about biological phenomena and theories, was one of these works that impacted psychology indirectly. Other than giving a new perspective for psychologists to possess when contemplating different ideas, Darwin’s work on natural selection lead to the creation of evolutionary psychology.

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

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 work of Charles Darwin has had a colossal impact on the world and that impact has been felt the most in the area of the sciences. Darwin theorized that humans and animals have descended from a common ancestor and that all living things have a lot in common; out of that background came the study of Comparative Psychology which, is the study of animals to learn more about human behavior (Tanner, 2008). The basic original goal of comparative psychology was to study the differences and the similarities of the behavior of types and classes of animals in the evolutionary history of those types and classes (Waters, Rethlingshafer, & Caldwell, 1960, p. 9). Another of Darwin’s theories concerns the

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.

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 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:

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