Development of cool and hot theory of mind and cool and hot inhibitory control abilities from 3.5 to 6.5 years of age.

Manali Draperi,Grégoire Borst,Olivier Houdé,Lorna Le Stanc,Mathieu Cassotti,Ania Aïte,George Vousden

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0262251

Abstract

Attributing affectively neutral mental states such as thoughts (i.e., cool theory of mind, cool ToM) to others appears to be rooted in different processes than the ones involved in attributing affectively charged mental states such as emotions (i.e., hot ToM) to others. However, no study has investigated the developmental pattern of hot and cool ToM abilities using a similar task and the relative contribution of cool and hot inhibitory control (IC) to cool and hot ToM development. To do so, we tested 112 children aged 3.5 to 6.5 years on a cool and a hot version of a ToM task and on a cool and hot version of an IC task. We found that hot ToM abilities developed more rapidly than cool ToM. Importantly, we found that hot IC abilities mediated the relation between age and hot ToM abilities. Taken together, our results suggest that the ability to attribute emotions to others develops more rapidly than the ability to attribute thoughts and that the growing efficiency of hot ToM with age is specifically rooted in the growing efficiency of hot IC abilities.

Highlights

For nearly forty years, researchers have studied the human ability to attribute mental states such as intentions, desires, beliefs, thoughts or emotions to others [1,2,3]
Studies have shown that hot theory of mind (ToM) can be selectively impaired despite preserved cool ToM in adults diagnosed with schizophrenia [7] or psychopathy [10]
Cool and hot ToM rely on partially distinct networks [10,11,12,13], with cool ToM relying more on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and hot ToM on the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC)

Summary

Introduction

For nearly forty years, researchers have studied the human ability to attribute mental states such as intentions, desires, beliefs, thoughts or emotions to others [1,2,3]. This meta-representational ability, referred to as theory of mind (ToM), has received much attention because this ability is critical for social adaptation [4,5,6]. Studies have shown that hot ToM can be selectively impaired despite preserved cool ToM in adults diagnosed with schizophrenia [7] or psychopathy [10]. Other studies grant a broader role to the VMPFC, suggesting that it could be involved in inferential reasoning that would include the ability to attribute

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