Theory of Mind

From: Cherry, Sandra (sc1396@soton.ac.uk)
Date: Mon Feb 24 1997 - 11:31:51 GMT

Premack from studying chimps found that one was able to both deceive
and understand deception, but, was unable to achieve a third level,
which humans have, "attribution of attribution." (The Mind of an ape,
Premack, p66/67) I.E. having the understanding that others too can
understand a third person's intentions. (I think that I have
interpreted it properly) This "Theory of Mind" can be related to a
charastic of autism. As it is believed (Frith, Leslie & Barron-Cohen
as cited in Autism: An Introduction F.Happe) that some autistic people
are unable to perceive others thoughts. I.E. They can not take into
account others mental states, when describing a situation, thereby
being unable to understand deception. Sandra

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