9.916 Attribution and Theory of MindToday’s Lecture Other’s actions are more than spatiotemporal patterns; they reflect, and predict, internal states How do people infer the causes of others’ actions? Social Psychology: Attribution Theory Developmental Psychology: Theory of Mind Action Stable TransientAttribution Theory Action Stable External Internal Kelley’s ANOVA model: consensus Object distinctiveness Situation consistency “Jon laughs at the comic tonight.” Does everyone laugh at the comic? Does Jon laugh at all comics? Does Jon always laugh at this comic? Common method: Something about the person? the situation?External Action Stable Internal Common method: Something about the person? the situation? Phenomena: Situation Neglect a.k.a. Insufficient Discounting, Fundamental Attribution Error Actor-Observer Asymmetries own failures attributed to external causes Attribution TheoryExternal Action Stable Internal Common method: Something about the person? the situation? Flaws: Assumes lots of data “External” causes: “Jon went on vacation to the Carribean because the weather is hot there.” Hot weather = external cause “... but Jon didn’t know it was hot.” “... but the weather was terrible that week.” Attribution TheoryTheory of Mind Premack’s “Theory of Mind” Action Stable Transient Intention Ability Belief Desire Sarah: Action prediction Figures removed due to copyright restrictions.Theory of Mind The Sally-Anne problem Action prediction based on false belief is different from the prediction based on reality. (Wimmer & Perner 1983,Wellman, Cross and Watson 2001) & African pygmy hunter gatherers (Avis & Harris 1999, Callaghan et al 2005) 302550751003.5 4 4.5 5 5.5Age (years)Percent using false beliefCanada Samoa India PeruChanceFigure by MIT OpenCourseWare.Figures removed due to copyright restrictions.Theory of Mind False Belief - Location transfer - False contents - 3rd P - 1st P past - Prediction - Explanation False Photo (Wellman et al 2001,Atance & O’Neill 2004, Zaitchik 1990, Leslie and Thaiss 1992) Belief Photo543210TypicalAustismFigure by MIT OpenCourseWare.Figures removed due to copyright restrictions.Theory of Mind Neural mechanism Susie parked her sports car in the driveway. In the middle of the night. Nathan moved her car into the garage to make room for his minivan. Susie woke up early in the morning. She expects to see in the drive a sportscar a minivan A volcano erupted on this Caribbean island three months ago. Barren lava rock is all that remains. Satellite photos show the island as it was before the eruption. In the photos the island is covered in rock vegetation (Saxe and Kanwisher 2003, Saxe 2006, etc) Figure removed due to copyright restrictions.Theory of Mind Neural mechanism Belief > Photo Individual subjects Susie parked her sports car in the driveway. In the middle of the night. Nathan moved her car into the garage to make room for his minivan. Susie woke up early in the morning. She expects to see in the drive a sportscar a minivan A volcano erupted on this Caribbean island three months ago. Barren lava rock is all that remains. Satellite photos show the island as it was before the eruption. In the photos the island is covered in rock vegetation Figure by MIT OpenCourseWare.Theory of Mind Neural mechanism Reality Known Task: Predict where the girl will look. Results Lesions in (1) left lateral frontal (2) left TPJ Figure removed due to copyright restrictions. (Samson et al 2004, Samson et al 2005) 036912FB ControlTP FrontalFigure by MIT OpenCourseWare.Theory of Mind Neural mechanism Reality Unknown Task: Indicate where the object is. Results Lesions in (1) left lateral frontal (2) left TPJ Figure removed due to copyright restrictions. (Samson et al 2004, Samson et al 2005) 036912FB ControlTP FrontalFigure by MIT OpenCourseWare.Theory of Mind Development False Belief understanding isn’t “having” a Theory of MindTheory of Mind Development (1) Diverse Desires Which one will the girl choose?Theory of Mind Development (1) Diverse Desires (2) Diverse Beliefs Where will the girl look for the dog?Theory of Mind Development (1) Diverse Desires (2) Diverse Beliefs (3) Access/Ignorance Does the girl know what’s in the drawer?Theory of Mind Development (1) Diverse Desires (2) Diverse Beliefs (3) Access/Ignorance (4) False Belief What does the boy think is in the box?Theory of Mind Development (1) Diverse Desires (2) Diverse Beliefs (3) Access/Ignorance (4) False Belief (5) Hidden Emotion How does the boy really feel?Theory of Mind Development Wellman, Liu (2004) 1,2,3,4,5 1,2,3,4 1,2,3 1,2 1 None036912153 Years 4 Years 5 Years(1) Diverse Desires (2) Diverse Beliefs(3) Access/Ignorance (4) False Belief(5) Hidden Emotion60/75 Kids: 80%Replicated longitudinallyFigure by MIT OpenCourseWare.Theory of Mind Non-human primates Figures removed due to copyright restrictions. Competitive Not Cooperative Santos, Flombaum (IP)Origins of False Belief understandingMIT OpenCourseWarehttp://ocw.mit.edu 9.916 Special Topics: Social Animals Fall 2009 For information about citing these materials or our Terms of Use, visit: