Theory of mind revisited
Michael Pauen 1,2, Henrike Moll 3, Glenn Carruthers 4, Anna Strasser 1,2
The ability to take perspectives has been thought to develop at the age of 4 to 5 years, when children first solve the standard false belief task and other so-called 'theory of mind' tests. A number of recent studies, however, are taken as evidence that this capacity is present much earlier, namely in the first year of life (e.g. Surian, Caldi, & Sperber, 2007). But the methodological approaches differ dramatically between the classic assessments and the recent looking-time techniques. One crucial difference is the level of explicitness. A thorough philosophical investigation is needed which elucidates the 'implicit-explicit' distinction, both on the level of response measures (e.g., verbal answers versus looking duration) and on the level of the object of investigation.
This post-doctoral project aims at a philosophically informed review of the theory of mind literature with a special emphasis on the problem of perspectives. In order to guarantee genuine cooperation across disciplines, the post-doctoral philosopher has the opportunity to work closely together with developmental psychologists whose research focus lies on these questions.
References:
- Moll, H., & Meltzoff, A. N. (in press). Perspective taking and its foundation in joint attention. In N. Eilan H. Lerman, J. Roessler (Eds.), Perception, causality, and objectivity: Issues in Philosophy and Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Pauen, M. (2000). Selbstbewusstsein: Ein metaphysisches Relikt? Philosophische und empirische Befunde zur Konstitution von Subjektivität. In A. Newen, K. Vogeley (Eds.), Selbst und Gehirn. Menschliches Selbstbewusstsein und seine neurobiologischen Grundlagen. Paderborn: Mentis.
- Surian, L., Caldi, S., & Sperber, D. (2007). Attribution of beliefs by 13-month-old infants. Psychological Science, 18, 580–586.
1 Berlin School of Mind and Brain, HU Berlin, Luisenstraße 56, 10117 Berlin, Germany
2 Institute of Philosophy, HU Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10117 Berlin, Germany
3 Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany .
4 CILS Center for Integrative Life Sciences, HU Berlin, Luisenstraße 50, 10117 Berlin, Germany
