What Is Theory of Mind?

I mentioned in my post about atheism and autism that it is believed that autistic people lack a theory of mind. I wanted to talk today about why that is a misconception and where the misconception possibly came from. But, of course, the first thing to do is to answer the question "What is Theory of Mind?"

Theory of Mind is the ability to infer and understand another person's beliefs, thoughts, intentions, and feelings, and use this information to explain and predict their behavior. 

One way that Theory of Mind is tested in children is this simple story problem;

Suppose that two children are playing together, we'll call them Mary and Ashley (names are for simplicity's sake and are otherwise unimportant). Mary puts her toy on the table and leaves the room. While Mary is gone, Ashley gets up and moves Mary's toy from the table to the toybox. 
When Mary returns where will she look first for her toy? If your answer is the table, congrats. You have a working Theory of Mind (at least on an elementary level). If your answer is the toybox, you struggle with Theory of Mind.
This test is often given to children, and a lot of times autistic children (and neurodivergent children as a whole) will answer with "the toybox".

But why? And why then is this considered a misconception?

This particular test checks one of many aspects of Theory of Mind; the ability to know what someone would think based on the information they have. There are others, and that is where an autistic child may struggle. Autistic people struggle with non-verbal communication. Body language, facial expressions, and things of that nature, and those are crucial for developing a Theory of Mind. 

So why is this considered a misconception then?

Because Theory of Mind can be learned! Many autistic people learn Theory of Mind, whether by trying to learn it, or by picking it up from our peers. Autistic people may be slower at learning Theory of Mind, and may struggle with it more than others, but it can be learned, and most autistic people have a working Theory of Mind by the time they reach adulthood. 

Not only that, but, as I mentioned in my other post, not all autistic people struggle with the same things, or to the same degree. So it's possible for a child to be autistic, and still have a good Theory of Mind. 

Why do a lot of neurodivergent children fail this test?

Neurodivergent children are more likely to fail this test because of the way it is presented, and the way our brains analyze information. If the test instead said "Ashley moved the toy to the toybox after Mary had left it on the table" more children would remember and know that the toy should be on the table.
This is the testing I remember being used on me, so it is possible that the way it is tested now is different. If not, there is definitely room for improvement. 

Thanks for reading. If you’ve enjoyed this, don’t forget to like and comment,  and follow me on Facebook, or help me buy more books to read, and remember; question everything and never stop learning.