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Theory of Mind

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Adolescence

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Overview

Theory of Mind involves the investigation of how individuals ascribe mental states to others and how individuals use the states to explain and predict the actions of those other individuals. These abilities develop soon during childhood and they are used to understand others, anticipate what they will do, feel, and think. Much of research in this area comes from cognitive psychology, and it has yet to fully address the period of adolescence. Still, there are many aspects of research on adolescence that relates to the Theory of Mind.

Theory of Mind

Theory of mind (ToM) refers to the cognitive ability to infer and understand the mental states of others as well as one’s own. These mental states involve, for example, evaluations relating to beliefs, intentions, desires, pretenses, knowledge, and thinking. First used by primatologists and psychologists Premack and Woodruff (1978) who asked whether the chimpanzee had a theory of mind, the term has become an important part of...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, 302 Sycamore Hall, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Roger J. R. Levesque

Authors
  1. Roger J. R. Levesque
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Correspondence to Roger J. R. Levesque .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Roger J. R. Levesque

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Levesque, R.J.R. (2018). Theory of Mind. In: Levesque, R.J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33228-4_619

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