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(2013) Handbook of neurosociology, Dordrecht, Springer.
Theory of mind (ToM) is the term used by cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists to describe a person's ability to understand another person's mental states. It is importantly involved in empathy and any behavior that takes into consideration the likely reaction of others. In this chapter, I describe the standard test used to gauge a child's ToM, the false belief test. I trace the typical development of ToM in young children and discuss theories of this development. I discuss the association of ToM with language learning, brain bases of ToM, and the lack of development of ToM in autistic children. Last, I discuss the relevance of the development of ToM in children for sociological work on the emergence of the self, as well as other sociological perspectives.
Publication details
DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-4473-8_16
Full citation:
Hopcroft, R. L. (2013)., Neurosociology and theory of mind (tom), in D. D. Franks & J. H. Turner (eds.), Handbook of neurosociology, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 231-241.
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