Self-projection in middle childhood: a study on the relationship between theory of mind and episodic future thinking

Ines Adornetti,Giovanni Valeri,Alessandra Chiera,Andrea Marini,Rita Magni,Valentina Deriu,Daniela Altavilla,Francesco Ferretti

doi:10.1007/s10339-021-01013-w

Abstract

Growing evidence suggests that theory of mind (ToM) and episodic future thinking (EFT) are closely related at both brain and functional level. This study explored the relationship between ToM and EFT in 96 Italian-speaking children with typical development aged between 8 and 10.11 using a behavioral design. ToM was assessed through an emotional facial expression recognition task. EFT was assessed with a task where participants were required to project themselves forward in time by anticipating future states of the self; this resulted in two scores: a nonverbal measure and a verbal explanation measure. Results showed that the participants’ performance on the task assessing ToM correlated with and predicted the nonverbal measure of the EFT task. These findings are discussed in the light of theories suggesting that each of these abilities is governed by a common system devoted to self-projection.

Highlights

Over the last years, a significant number of investigations has provided growing evidence that abilities such as understanding the perspective of another person (Theory of Mind: theory of mind (ToM)), remembering the past (Episodic Memory: EM), imagining the future (Episodic Future Thinking: episodic future thinking (EFT)), Handling editor: Riccardo Brunetti (European University of Rome); Reviewers: Cristina M
This study aimed to explore the relationship between the ability to take on the perspective of other individuals – theory of mind – and the ability of self-projecting forward in time – episodic future thinking – in a group of children with typical development
From the correlation analyses it emerged that ToM score positively correlated with one of the two measures of EFT, namely with the identification score

Summary

Introduction

A significant number of investigations has provided growing evidence that abilities such as understanding the perspective of another person (Theory of Mind: ToM), remembering the past (Episodic Memory: EM), imagining the future (Episodic Future Thinking: EFT), Handling editor: Riccardo Brunetti (European University of Rome); Reviewers: Cristina M. A number of models have been proposed to account for the nature of this core network (e.g., Buckner and Carroll 2007; Hassabis et al 2007; Hassabis and Maguire 2009; Schacter and Addis 2007). According to one prominent hypothesis advanced by Buckner and Carroll (2007), the four cognitive abilities associated with such network are functionally similar as rely on a process of ‘self-projection’, which is defined as a shift of perception from the immediate environment to an alternative and imagined one, with the imagined event referenced to oneself. In Buckner and Carroll’s (2007) view, the mental construction of an imagined alternative event can be conceived as a form of ‘simulation’: ToM, EM, EFT, and MST are all cases of mental simulation of, respectively, another individual’s perspective, another time, and another place.

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Conclusion