Belief in Communism and Theory of Mind

Fang Guan,Outong Chen,Yijun Su,Hui Yang,Jun Chen,Yu Du

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.697251

Fang Guan, Outong Chen + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.697251

Copy DOI

Abstract

A belief in communism refers to the unquestionable trust and belief in the justness of communism. Although former studies have discussed the political aim and social value of communism, the cognitive neural basis of a belief in communism remains largely unknown. In this study, we determined the behavioral and neural correlates between a belief in communism and a theory of mind (ToM). For study 1, questionnaire scores were measured and for study 2, regional homogeneity (ReHo) and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) were used as an index for resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI), as measured by the Belief in Communism Scale (BCS). The results showed that a belief in communism is associated with higher ReHo in the left thalamus and lower ReHo in the left medial frontal gyrus (MFG). Furthermore, the results of the rsFC analysis revealed that strength of functional connectivity between the left thalamus and the bilateral precuneus is negatively associated with a belief in communism. Hence, this study provides evidence that spontaneous brain activity in multiple regions, which is associated with ToM capacity, contributes to a belief in communism.

Highlights

A belief is defined as a state of mind in which a person places trust or confidence in the existence or justness of a person or thing, with or without supporting empirical evidence (Zalta et al, 2008)
The results indicated that Belief in Communism Scale (BCS) was positively correlated with both the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) (r = 0.17, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.07, 0.27]) and the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE) (r = 0.30, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.20, 0.39])
We found that individual differences in a belief in communism were reflected in the regional homogeneity (ReHo) and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC)

Summary

Introduction

A belief is defined as a state of mind in which a person places trust or confidence in the existence or justness of a person or thing, with or without supporting empirical evidence (Zalta et al, 2008). To achieve a common goal and fulfill a common need, conspecifics must be able to cooperate and establish emotional contact (not necessarily involving physical contact), which are essential behaviors for social animals (Proverbio et al, 2011). These social abilities have been suggested to be correlated with theory of mind (ToM) abilities. The ToM is a social cognitive construct that refers to the ability to make high-level inferences about the mental states of an individual as well as those of others (i.e., thoughts, feelings, desires, and beliefs) (Premack and Woodruff, 1978) Such ToM abilities are fundamental to human social function (Elliott et al, 2006).

Methods

Results

Conclusion