General Description:

To make sense of the social world, adults rely on a commonsense psychological theory that interprets human action and interaction in terms of a rich network of mentalistic concepts. That is, we attempt to predict and explain our own and other people's behavior in terms of beliefs, desires, intentions, emotional states, and so on. In this seminar we will discuss recent theory and research on children's acquisition of this everyday "theory of mind". The seminar offers an opportunity to learn about state-of-the-art ideas in what is currently one of the most exciting and rapidly expanding areas in the study of cognition.

Readings:

Attached is a schedule of topics with associated readings. Most of the required readings are available as a course packet from the Bookstore. Starred (*) required readings and optional readings will be available in the Taylor room in the Psychology Department.

Seminar Requirements:

• Each student will be asked to help lead the discussion for at least one seminar during the term. The discussion leader should come prepared to briefly summarize the week's readings, and to present ideas or questions to help "jump start" the discussion if it happens to stall or stray too far from the topic at hand. Discussion leaders should consult with one of us in the week before the relevant seminar meeting.
  
• In addition, each student will be required to write a short research proposal (approx. 5-8 pages) based on some aspect of the course material. The research itself does not need to be conducted. The proposal should summarize the relevant literature, provide a rationale for the research, describe the proposed research methodology and how the data would be analyzed, and discuss the main ways in which the findings might come out. Students will present their proposals in class (the last 40 minutes of class will be devoted to these presentations from May 22 to June 5). These presentations will provide an opportunity for students to raise any methodological or conceptual problems with the proposed research, and to obtain feedback from the class on these problems. The written proposal is due on Monday, June 9.

There will be no meeting on April 3 as Dr. Moses and Dr. Taylor will be in Washington at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development.

APRIL 10 INTRODUCTORY MEETING AND OVERVIEW OF AREA

Moses, L. J. & Chandler, M. J. (1992). Traveler's guide to children's theories of mind. Psychological Inquiry, 3, 286-301.

Taylor, M. (1996). A theory of mind perspective on social cognitive development. In R. Gelman & T. Au (Eds.), E.C. Carterette & M. P. Friedman (Gen. Eds.) Handbook of perception and cognition: Vol. 13. Perceptual and cognitive development (pp. 283-329). Academic Press.

Optional Readings:

Bartsch, K. & Wellman, H. M. (1995). Children talk about the mind. New York: Oxford University Press. Chapter 1. Children, mind and language: An introduction (pp. 3-16).

Flavell, J.H. & Miller, P.H. (in press). Social cognition. In W. Damon (Series Ed.) & D. Kuhn & R.S. Siegler (Vol. Eds), Handbook of child psychology: Vol.2. Cognition, perception, and language development (5th ed.). New York: Wiley.

APRIL 17 ORIGINS OF THEORY OF MIND IN INFANCY

Gergely, G., Nadasdy, Z., Csibra, G., & Biro, S. (1995). Taking the intentional stance at 12 months of age. Cognition, 56, 165-193.

Meltzoff, A.N. (1995). Understanding the intentions of others: Re-enactment of intended acts by 18-month-old children. Developmental Psychology, 31, 838-850.

Baldwin, D.A. & Moses, L.J. (1996). The ontogeny of social information gathering. Child Development, 67, 15-39.

Optional Readings:

Repacholi, B.M. & Gopnik, A. (1997). Early reasoning about desires: Evidence from 14- and 18-month-olds. Developmental Psychology, 33, 12-21.

Gopnik, A. & Meltzoff, A.N. (1997). Words, thoughts, and theories. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Chapter 5. The child's theory of action (pp. 125-160).

APRIL 24 THEORY OF MIND AND LANGUAGE

Baldwin, D.A. (1995). Understanding the link between joint attention and language. In C. Moore & P.J. Dunham (Eds.), Joint attention: Its origins and role in development (pp. 131-158). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Tomasello, M. (in press). Perceiving intentions and learning words in the second year of life. In M. Bowerman & S. Levinson (Eds.), Language acquisition and conceptual development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Bartsch, K. & Wellman, H.M. (1995). Children talk about the mind. New York: Oxford University Press. Chapter 5. Desires and Beliefs (pp. 95-111).

Optional Readings:

Sabbagh, M.A. & Callanan, M.A. (1996). Metarepresentation in action: Children's theories of mind emerging and developing in parent-child conversations. Unpublished manuscript, University of Oregon.

O'Neill, D.K. (1996). Two-year-old children's sensitivity to a parent's knowledge state when making requests. Child Development, 67, 659-677.

Clark, H.H. (1996). Using language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 4. Common ground (pp. 92-121).

MAY 1 THEORY OF MIND: DIVERGING THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS

*Gopnik, A. & Wellman, H.M. (1994). The theory theory. In L.A. Hirschfeld & S.A. Gelman (Eds.), Mapping the mind: Domain specificity in cognition and culture (pp. 257-293). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Carlson, S.M., Moses, L.J., & Hix, H.R. (1997). The role of inhibitory processes in young children's difficulties with deception and false belief. Manuscript submitted for publication, University of Oregon.

*Frye, D., Zelazo, P.D., & Palfai, T. (1996). Theory of mind and rule-based reasoning. Cognitive Development, 10, 483-527.

Montgomery, D. E. (in press). Wittgenstein's private language argument and children's understanding of mind. Developmental Review.

Optional Readings:

Russell, J. (1996). Agency: Its role in mental development. Hove, East Sussex: Erlbaum. (pp. 222-243).

Perner, J. (in press). The meta-intentional nature of executive functions and theory of mind. In P. Carruthers & J. Boucher (Eds.), Language and thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

MAY 8 THE BRAIN BASIS OF THEORY OF MIND

Baron-Cohen, S., Ring, H., Moriarty, J., Schmitz, B., Costa, D., & Ell, P. (1994). Recognition of mental state terms: Clinical findings in children with autism and a functional neuroimaging study of normal adults. British Journal of Psychiatry, 165, 640-649.

Fletcher, P.C., Happe, F., Frith, U., Baker, S.C., Dolan, R.J., Frackowiak, R.S.J., & Frith, C.D. (1995). Other minds in the brain: A functional imaging study of "theory of mind" in story comprehension. Cognition, 57, 109-128.

Siegal, M., Carrington, J. & Radel, M. (1996). Theory of mind and pragmatic understanding following right hemisphere damage. Brain and Language, 53, 40-50.

Optional Readings:

Baron-Cohen, S. (1995). Mindblindness: An essay on autism and theory of mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Chapter 6. How brains read minds (pp. 85-96).

Brothers, L. (1994). Neurophysiology of the perception of intentions by primates. In M.S. Gazzaniga (Ed.), The Cognitive Neurosciences. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

MAY 15 THEORY OF MIND AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

Leslie, A. M., & Frith, U. (1990). Prospects for a cognitive neuropsychology of autism: Hobson's choice. Psychological Review, 97, 122-131.

Leslie, A.M. & Thaiss, L. (1992). Domain specificity in conceptual development: Neuropsychological evidence from autism. Cognition, 43, 225-251.

Karmiloff-Smith, A., Klima, E., Bellugi, U., Grant, J., & Baron-Cohen, S. (1995). Is there a social module? Language, face processing, and theory of mind in individuals with Williams Syndrome. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 7, 196-208.

Happe, F. & Frith, U. (1996). Theory of mind and social impairment in children with conduct disorder. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 14, 385-398.

Optional Reading:

Zelazo, P.D., Burack, J.A., Benedetto, E., & Frye, D. (in press). Theory of mind and rule use in individuals with Down Syndrome: A test of the uniqueness and specificity claims. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

MAY 22 THEORY OF MIND AND EVOLUTION

Baron-Cohen, S. (1995). Mindblindness: An essay on autism and theory of mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Chapter 2. Evolutionary psychology and social chess (pp. 9-20).

*Moore, C. (1996). Evolution and the modularity of mindreading. Cognitive Development, 11, 605-621.

Corballis, M. C. (1997). The evolution of the human mind. Unpublished manuscript.

Heyes, C.M. (in press). Theory of mind in nonhuman primates. Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

Optional Readings:

Humphrey, N. (1976). The social function of the intellect. In P.P.G. Bateson & R.A. Hinde (Eds.), Growing points in ethology (pp. 303-317). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Byrne, R. (1995). The thinking ape: Evolutionary origins of intelligence. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapters 14 & 15.

MAY 29 INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN THEORY OF MIND

Taylor, M., & Carlson, S. M. (in press). The relation between individual differences in fantasy and theory of mind. Child Development.

Jenkins, J. M., & Astington, J. W. (1996). Cognitive factors and family structure associated with theory of mind development in young children. Developmental Psychology, 32, 70-78.

Dunn, J. (1995). Children as psychologists: The later correlates of individual differences in understanding of emotions and other minds. Cognition and Emotion, 9, 187-201.

Bartsch, K. & Estes, D. (1996). Individual differences in children's developing theory of mind and implications for metacognition. Learning and Individual Differences, 8, 281-304.

Optional Reading:

Lewis, C., Freeman, N.H., Kyriakidou, C., Maridaki-Kassotaki, K., & Berridge, D. (1996). Social influences on false belief access: Specific sibling influences or general apprenticeship? Child Development, 67, 2930-2947.

JUNE 5 THEORY OF MIND AND CULTURE

Lillard, A. (1997). Ethnopsychologies: Cultural variations in theories of mind. Manuscript under review, University of Virginia.

Joshi, M. S., & MacLean, M. (1994). Indian and English children's understanding of the distinction between real and apparent emotion. Child Development, 65, 1372-1384.

Vinden, P.G. (1996). Junin Quechua children's understanding of mind. Child Development, 67, 1707-1716.

Optional Readings:

Avis, J., & Harris, P. L. (1991). Belief-desire reasoning among Baka children: Evidence for a universal conception of mind. Child Development, 62, 460-467.

Baron-Cohen, S., Riviere, A., Fukushima, M., French, D., Hadwin, J., Cross, P., Bryant, C., & Sotillo, M. (1996). Reading the mind in the face: A cross-cultural and developmental study. Visual Cognition, 3, 39-59.

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moses@darkwing.uoregon.edu ; Last updated 3/27/97.