What Is Meant By A Theory Of Mind? Essay

Psychology is a term derived from two Greek words that translate to life explanation, which makes it an important element of daily life. The field of psychology can be described as a discipline that focuses on the study of mind and behavior. This discipline is characterized by several concepts and approaches that are used by psychologists in understanding human behavior. Since psychology is a broad field, psychologists not only use these concepts and approaches but also conduct scientific research that enables them to understand human behavior. Some of the most common psychological concepts that are used to modify or change an individual’s behavior include operant conditioning, positive and negative punishment,

People understand each other using cognitive skills, an example of this is mindreading. Mindreading abilities also referred to as the theory of mind (ToM) is acknowledging that other people have mental states, such as understanding that others have desires, motives, beliefs and intentions (Hewson, 2015a). This is generally an essential, undemanding skill for social interaction. Thereby, this essay will evaluate how psychology has helped to explain how people understand each other by firstly, explaining how different aspects of ToM have been studied. Additionally, Heider and Simmel’s (1944) study of geometric shapes will be explored to demonstrate how people interpret other people’s behaviour, even in animation. Subsequently, Autism

Learning by observation is a type of learning in which an individual observes the behavior of others, sees the consequences of the behaviors, and then attempts to carry out the same behavior. Social learning is based on the standards of classical and operant conditioning and observational learning. It is a commonly shared belief that people have an instinctive ability to imitate the behavior of others. However, this ability is not unique to humans. Animals have also showed evidence of being able to mimic humans and other animals (Mazur, 2013). Chimpanzees, or Pan Troglodytes, have demonstrated social learning through many different experiments in different settings. Chimpanzees have shown the ability to observe the behavior of a model and reproduce the behavior. However, chimpanzees have also demonstrated the mental capacity of understanding when behaviors do not elicit a desired reaction and not repeating these behaviors under these circumstances. This paper will focus on chimpanzees and their ability to learn new behaviors through social learning.

Other people do not have minds. At least, I cannot know for sure that they do, and will argue for this case in this essay. The problem of other minds (that is, can we know that other people have minds) is a problem that (like all classic philosophical problems) seemingly has no provable answer. The problem is such; I do not know for sure that other people actually have minds; I only know what my own experiences are like through direct experience (i.e. I know my experiences because I experience them), but I cannot have direct knowledge of other people’s experiences, as I cannot experience their experiences alongside them. Therefore, I only have information about people’s behaviour to go on; e.g. I cannot know that someone is happy, but I can experience them behave in such a way that would lead me to the conclusion that they’re happy, as that is how I would act if I were happy. The problem with this, however, is that behaviour is not equal to mental states, and therefore I have no knowledge of other people’s mental states, only that they seem to experience mental states based on their behaviour. Of course, I cannot know that they experience mental states for sure, as I cannot experience other’s mental states, I can only draw conclusions from their behaviour, which does not prove that they do have minds.

Though many of us may not realize it, humans have a remarkable set of abilities that allows us to understand, empathize with, and predict others’ thoughts and feelings. In other words, the average person is able to “put himself in another’s shoes.” In our daily lives we tend to take this skill for granted. It is only when something goes wrong that we realize how important it actually is. For autistic individuals, this mindreading deficit is all too real. In fact, an inability to engage in this type of understanding of other’s mental states is often taken as the hallmark sign of autism.

“One with a well-developed personality is of course a happy person. As the result of social, physical, financial, and spiritual well-being, happiness is assured.”

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.

Many arguments in the philosophy of the mind have been made for and against, whether or not the mind and the brain are the same entity. The mind-brain identity theory is the view that the mind is the brain and that mental states are brain states (Mandik 77). Therefore, we can identify sensations and other mental processes with physical brain processes (Blutner 4). I argue, that the mind is not identical to the brain, and the conceivable idea of zombies, as well as the multiple realizability argument, can disprove this theory.

As Thomas Nagel points out in his essay Other Minds, it is impossible to figure out who or what has a conscious mind and to what extent it experiences things. Without having immediate access to other minds, we can never know for certain the existence of other minds except for our own. The only basis on which we can understand other people’s experiences and minds is through observation and testimony, but even those can only go so far as to provide an explanation. We can watch other people and see through our own eyes how they experience certain situations, or they can tell us how they experienced it. However, that does not mean that they, in fact, have a conscious mind.

Hypothesis and Conclusions: Krupenye and colleagues (2016) hypothesize that apes have the ability to understand that certain actions are dictated by false beliefs. The researchers used infrared eye-tracker to reveal what decision apes anticipated a human agent would make, in regards to selecting one of two locations in which an object was hidden. Results indicated that as the actor approached the two locations, most apes’ initial glances were directed at the location in which the human thought the object would be, despite it actually having been removed. Therefore, the hypothesis was supported: the apes were able to predict the agent’s actions based on an understanding of his false beliefs.

     In 1988, Premack carried out a research study which would appear to support the notion of the ‘theory of mind’. In his study, which was centred on an adult chimpanzee called Sarah; he exposed her to videotapes of an actor with a problem, namely an inability to reach some bananas that were placed out of reach overhead. He then proceeded to show Sarah a number of photographed solutions to the problem, only one of which actually evidenced a successful solution to the problem, (in this situation, it was stepping on a

For example, imitation and teaching explain that chimpanzee’s may watch their mother doing actions academically (problem-solving) she never gives her young enough feedback or just a simple look to reinforce his observation. He concludes by explaining that humans have a preexisting capacity that allows them to represent what they imagine by combining human elements (language) while, animals clearly do not.

I chose Gestalt Psychology for my first perspective, it is how people experience objects and perceive things as a whole. Gestalt allows us to look at everyday objects and distinguish them from their surroundings. Without the Gestalt Theory people would see every atom that made up a whole object. As I look at my computer screen, I do not see every little atom, I see the screen as a whole. From this perspective, learning objects as a whole instead of each individual part is beneficial because it allows us to open our minds for new learning experiences. However, there may be things in life that do not provide enough visual clues to determine what it is supposed to be.

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.

William Blake, a poet that strongly believed in the power of mind, once wrote, "if we see with imagination, we see all things in the infinite." The Romantic poets use their imagination when gazing at nature, and therefore see and feel the infinite through their poetry. William Wordsworth expresses the serene beauty that nature possesses and its calming effects on the mind. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, one of the poetic geniuses of the age, uses nature and his imagination to create surreal atmospheres. Another Romantic poet, by the name of Percy Bysshe Shelley, shows great longing for the freedom that nature possesses and the freeing effect it has on him. These poets of the Romantic period look at nature from a higher consciousness