Abstract
This paper presents a review of the processes involved in the development of the theory of mind in children through an intersubjective approach. More specifically, the development of the theory of mind was examined in the context of the child-caregiver attachment. For this purpose, studies examining the links between various theory of mind variables (e.g.: joint attention, symbolic play, language skills) and parent-child interaction variables (e.g.: maternal sensitivity, reflective functioning) were reviewed. In summary, variables pertaining to the parent-child relationship, reflective functioning and maternal sensitivity in particular, are argued to be the key determinants of a child’s affect regulation and self organization.
Highlights
One major aspect of human social understanding is the theory of mind which explains how an individual responds to others‟ actions, and to aspects of the others‟ mental states such as beliefs, desires, intentions, feelings and attitudes (BaronCohen, 1995)
The currently dominant view holds that there exists an innate capacity for theory of mind; and that children, even when they are very young, are able to attribute their internal states as causes of their actions (Baron-Cohen, 1995; Leslie, 1994)
After providing a brief review of prominent approaches concerning theory of mind, the characteristics of parentchild interaction linked to the child‟s mentalization capacity will be explored relying upon previous theories which focus on social development in understanding theory of mind (Fonagy & Target, 1997; Goldman, 1993; Gopnik 1993; Wellman, 1990)
Summary
One major aspect of human social understanding is the theory of mind which explains how an individual responds to others‟ actions, and to aspects of the others‟ mental states such as beliefs, desires, intentions, feelings and attitudes (BaronCohen, 1995). During the last two decades, the concept has been the focus of cognitive and developmental psychology (Wellman, 1993; Baron-Cohen, Tager-Flusberg & Cohen, 2000; Perner, 1991) Researchers in this area hold different views in regard to the origins or development of theory of mind. As Fonagy, Gergely, Jurist and Target (2004) argued, emotions might stand for intentional stances as beliefs and desires and have common representational characteristics. They distinguished feeling states from beliefs and desires in the sense that emotions are processed with accompanying changes in physiological arousal and corresponding. More will be examined regarding this concept later in this article; I find it important to briefly mention other ideas on theory of mind to assure a basic understanding of the different explanations of the concept
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