Abstract
This research investigated how accurately people infer what others are thinking after observing a brief sample of their behaviour and whether culture/similarity is a relevant factor. Target participants (14 British and 14 Mediterraneans) were cued to think about either positive or negative events they had experienced. Subsequently, perceiver participants (16 British and 16 Mediterraneans) watched videos of the targets thinking about these things. Perceivers (both groups) were significantly accurate in judging when targets had been cued to think of something positive versus something negative, indicating notable inferential ability. Additionally, Mediterranean perceivers were better than British perceivers in making such inferences, irrespective of nationality of the targets, something that was statistically accounted for by corresponding group differences in levels of independently measured collectivism. The results point to the need for further research to investigate the possibility that being reared in a collectivist culture fosters ability in interpreting others’ behaviour.
Highlights
IntroductionThe purpose of this research was to investigate whether people can determine what others are thinking (something positive or something negative) after observing a brief sample of their behaviour
The purpose of this research was to investigate whether people can determine what others are thinking after observing a brief sample of their behaviour
One research tradition has focused on the developmental origins and the cognitive process involved in mentalizing [2] while another has focused on devising techniques intended to determine how accurately any given individual can infer others’ mental states [3]
Summary
The purpose of this research was to investigate whether people can determine what others are thinking (something positive or something negative) after observing a brief sample of their behaviour. ‘Mentalizing’ (known otherwise as mindreading, theory of mind, mental simulation, mind perception, empathic accuracy) is inferring others’ mental states, usually for the purpose of explaining past behaviour or predicting future behaviour [1]. One research tradition has focused on the developmental origins and the cognitive process involved in mentalizing [2] while another has focused on devising techniques intended to determine how accurately any given individual can infer others’ mental states [3]. The research technique is notable in that it satisfies West and Kenny’s [7] ‘truth condition’. These authors identify a major problem with past research into mentalizing concerning
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