Multiple Systems in Theory of Mind Development

心理理论发展中的多重系统

• 批准号: 0922184
• 负责人: Alan Leslie
• 金额: $ 48.93万
• 依托单位: Rutgers University New Brunswick
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-01 至 2013-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0922184&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Multiple; Systems; Theory; Mind; Development

As a species, human beings are distinguished by an advanced social intelligence. We perceive in ourselves and in others an inner life of goals, fears, hopes, beliefs, imaginings, and longings. By sharing our inner lives, we cooperate, compete, and communicate in ways that are impossible for any other species and that remain a distant dream for even the most advanced computer systems. Although central to human nature, the ability to share our inner lives only began to be studied by cognitive psychologists in the 1980's and by neuroscientists in the 1990's. Many advances have been made since then in understanding the cognitive and brain bases of what is called our "theory of mind" ability. Theory-of-mind abilities can be experimentally demonstrated in typically developing 4-year-old children, while older and otherwise capable children and adolescents with autism are unable to pass the same tasks. The severe social and communicative impairments in autism may stem from a failure of theory of mind to develop in the brain. Although typically developing children do not generally demonstrate theory-of-mind abilities using traditional tasks until age four (with younger children failing such tasks), recent evidence demonstrates that infants show some aspects of this ability when measured with nonverbal tasks. These seemingly discrepant findings suggest that typically developing babies may have an unconscious and intuitive version of theory-of-mind abilities previously associated only with four-year-olds. If so, typical social development may depend upon the unfolding of a natural theory-of-mind 'instinct' that is expressed first at an intuitive, unconscious, and non-verbal level in the brain. Failure of developing brain systems to express this early 'instinct' may characterize autistic spectrum disorders. This project investigates these ideas by using a variety of experimental methods some of which probe spontaneous, intuitive (or "implicit") responses to social scenarios such as eye-gaze and looking behaviors, as well as traditional, more deliberative (or "explicit") measures such as answers to verbal questions about similar scenarios. Neurologically typical children will be studied in several age groups, from infants to older preschoolers, as well as children with autism. Through a multi-population, multi-method approach the project will reveal how multiple theory-of-mind systems interact in developing brain systems and how unconscious cognition gradually comes to connect with conscious verbal knowledge.The project integrates research with teaching and service to the broader community. Post-doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students, including minorities and individuals from developing nations, are fully involved each year. Findings are disseminated not only through scholarly publications and meetings, but also through public lectures and through old and new media, including the internet. The project will help uncover the deep roots of human sociality and, by revealing how it develops, will enrich understanding of the foundations of human culture, the capacity for education and law, the social transmission of knowledge, children's and adults' intuitive social sense, and the nature of autistic spectrum disorders.

作为一种物种，人类以先进的社会智能为特征。我们在自己和他人中感知到目标，恐惧，希望，信念，想象力和渴望的内在生活。通过分享我们的内心生活，我们以其他任何物种都是不可能的方式进行合作，竞争和交流的，即使是最先进的计算机系统也是一个遥远的梦想。尽管对人性的核心，但分享我们内心生活的能力才被认知心理学家在1980年代和1990年代的神经科学家开始研究。从那时起，就已经取得了许多进步，以理解所谓的“心灵理论”能力的认知和大脑基础。可以在通常发展的4岁儿童的情况下实验证明心灵的能力，而年龄较大的有能力的儿童和自闭症的青少年无法通过相同的任务。自闭症中严重的社会和沟通障碍可能源于心理理论在大脑中发展的失败。尽管通常发展的儿童通常不会使用传统任务直到四岁（年龄较小的孩子失败）才能证明道德理论的能力，但最近的证据表明，当用非语言任务测量时，婴儿表现出这种能力的某些方面。这些看似差异的发现表明，通常患婴儿可能具有以前仅与四岁儿童相关的智能理论能力的无意识和直观的版本。如果是这样，典型的社会发展可能取决于自然的“本能”的展开，该理论首先在大脑中直观，无意识和非语言水平上表达。开发大脑系统表达这种早期“本能”的未能表征自闭症谱系障碍。该项目通过使用各种实验方法来研究这些想法，其中一些对社交场景（例如眼睛凝视和外观行为）以及传统，更加审议（或“明确”）措施（例如对类似场景的面对面问题的答案）对社交场景（例如眼睛凝视和外观行为）以及传统，更加审议（或“明确”）措施的探测。从婴儿到年龄较大的学龄前儿童以及自闭症儿童，将在几个年龄段中对神经学典型的儿童进行研究。通过多种多样的人群，该项目将揭示多个心脏理论系统如何在开发大脑系统中相互作用，以及无意识的认知如何逐渐与有意识的口头知识联系在一起。该项目将研究与更广泛的社区的教学和服务融合在一起。博士后，毕业生和本科生，包括少数民族和发展中国家的个人，每年都有充分参与。发现不仅是通过学术出版物和会议传播的，还通过公开演讲以及包括互联网在内的新旧媒体传播。该项目将有助于揭示人类社会性的深层根源，并通过揭示其发展方式，丰富对人类文化基础，教育和法律的基础，知识的社会传播，儿童和成人的直觉社会意识以及自闭症谱系障碍的本质。