Baron-Cohen+(WK3)

__**Theory of mind in normal development and autism, Simon Baron-Cohen**__ (notes on article week 3)

//***Disclaimer: feel free to change the format of this if you'd like. I just needed a way to get out my thoughts that made sense to me. I won't be offended. :]***// **summaries/quotes from readin g **/__// S ections from reading//__, **page numbers** , **objections/questions/comments** , __links__

__**Questions/comments:**__


 * **Is there another here who can skew their conceptions of language for just a moment to consider that language is simply a tool? I know now that I've remarked on this, most would likely agree, (naturally of course) but what are thoughts, what is mind without language applied? Would anyone counter that it is a language all on its own and tailored to the individual, and that in collectivization (society) we simplify the mind to the degree that it something that is produced from language not something that necessarily can produce language (further: while being one itself, perhaps)? Consider these questions, but I would suggest not until you take a moment to sit with yourself, detach from what is around you and what you're most focused on (in fact, detach from all focus in a way), and try to exist in your mind without using our spoken and written language. Try and discover what your individual language sounds like. Hard task for sure, but I believe we might all have one. <=== just something spurred from a conversation with a friend about how we express our internal stimuli.**

**Interesting piece of Chomsky's that I found after writing the above through the google search "language of the mind" (copy and paste in browser if this doesn't work):** ‍‍‍ []

=__**Notes:**__=
 * the use of the word "normal" in describing children sans autism creates a large gray area for me.

**(p. 3)**
 * // __The mental-physical distinction:__ //

**"Theory of mind makes us human."**

**"Theory of mind is to be able to reflect on the contents of one's own and others minds".**


 * ‍‍‍"Difficulty in understanding other minds is a core cognitive feature of autism spectrum conditions." ‍‍‍‍ **

**"Children with classic autism have been found to be significantly impaired at making such judgements" in regards to distinctions between mental and physical "entities".**

**-** **For me this last note lacks proof for it is just stated. I found this to be a common trend in the article. The article seems to be a summary of other research but with little info to back up its own claims as a study itself, although seemingly having a lot of sources (see cited sources; "references"). There is a lot of implicitness, seemingly.**

**-I've also found that there is a lot of missing information here. There is a lot of reference to the experiments that were done, but no examples. Just a lot of statements. I felt like it was not enough. It talks of the "what" and the "who", but not the "why" or "how"**

**(p. 4)**
 * //__Understanding the Functions of the Brain__//**:**

**"A child with autism doesn't mention the brain's role in mental abilities, only its role in physical abilities, while a normal child will tell you that a brain plays part in both."** ** ‍‍‍‍ ** ** "Age in an autistic's mind doesn't match physiological age typically." ‍‍‍‍ **

** -This is what I got: The reading says that, in those studies, mental age is determined by verbal abilities. It goes on to say: "** ** In this way, one is able to check that the deficit is not due to insufficient mental age." **
 * My question then is; how is that terms to dismiss insufficient mental age as a cause of deficit? a deficit of what? **

**-Maybe a deficit in communication skills compared to what they call "normal"?** **-That makes sense**

**-So, then what do you think about someone that is a genius having delayed speech? I found this next statment on Wikipedia:**

Research on Einstein's brain has suggested to some neuroscientists that he was late in talking because of the unusual development of his brain, as revealed by an autopsy. Those portions of his brain where analytical thinking was concentrated had spread out far beyond their usual area and spilled over into adjoining areas, including the region from which speech is usually controlled. This has led some neuroscientists to suggest that his genius and his late talking could have been related.


 * There was a list of other people who have been recognized as being briliant who had delayed speech as young children. Wonder where this fits in? **

**(p. 5)**


 * // __First-order false belief tasks:__ //

**First paragraph presents us with the idea that autistic children cannot** **participate** **subjectively and objectively at the same time, a lack in some sort of duality.** **They cannot seem to interpret** **what others may be thinking but instead express their own thoughts.**

**(p. 6)**


 * __//Seeing leads to knowing://__

**Autistic children cannot figure what has happened or is going to happen even when clearly seen (second paragraph on pg).**


 * //__Tests of recognizing mental state words:__//

**Children without autism can pick out words that refer to what's going on in the mind "dream", "think", and "know" compared to words like "jump", and "eat".**

**Children with autism have much more difficulty in making this judgement". A‍‍‍‍<=== another blanket statement, and I find myself craving examples. Arguments with unstated premises are weak. ‍‍‍‍**

**(p. 7)**

**children with autism produce less descriptor words about mental state(s).**

**(p. 13)**


 * "there are no reported cases of autism spectrum disorder who pass first order theory of mind tests at the right mental age." **
 * "Thus, an individual with high-functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome, who by definition has normal intelligence, should be able to pass such tests at 3-4 years of age. Typically however, they are older than this when they pass such tests. In children with autism, Happe finds that on average a verbal mental age of 9 years old is needed before passing of such tests is seen, and that the youngest mental age of an individual with autism passing such tests is 5.5 years" **

**In short, the first half of the article was basically listing the differences between "normal" children and children with autism.**
 * Autistic children: **
 * ** have a hard time knowing the difference between mental and physical entities and events--- (p. 3) **
 * ** "appear to know about the physical functions, but typically fail to mention any mental function of the brain"- (p. 4) **
 * ** "have difficulties in shifting their perspective to judge what someone else might think, instead simply reporting what they themselves see" (p. 5) **
 * ** have a difficult time judging which words refer to what goes on inside the mind- (p. 6)  **
 * ** have a lower frequency of pretend play- (p. 7) **
 * ** have difficulty recognizing mental states as the cause of emotions (p. 8) **
 * ** Does not naturally have mentalistic interpretation of the eyes of another person (being able to figure out what a person is thinking by interpreting gaze-direction)--- (p. 8) **
 * **have difficulty deciphering between intentions and actions, even their own-** **(p. 9)**
 * **"have been shown to have difficulties both in production of deception, but also in understanding when someone else is deceiving them"-** **(p. 9)**
 * ** may confuse the intentions of the speaker, not comprehending sarcasm or when someone is trying to joke (p.10) **
 * ** have a hard time picking out inappropriate responses to questions (p. 11) **
 * **are either reluctant or less able to produce drawings of unreal or impossible objects--- (p. 12) **

**This also seems to hint that these autistic difficulties are social blockers. In a vague way, I feel like it is saying that children with autism have a hard time communicating with others because they lack theory of mind.**


 * (p. 3-14) **

//__Types of Tests:__//

**__The mental-physical distinction__**: “The test for this distinction involves the child listening to stories in which one character is having a mental experience (e.g., thinking about a dog) whilst a second character is having a physical experience (e.g., holding a dog). The experimenter then asks the subject to judge which operations the two characters can perform (e.g., which character can stroke the dog?)” ** (p. 3) **.

**__Understanding of the functions of the brain__**: “This test was also originally devised by Wellman and Estes, and involves asking the child what the brain is for. They found that normal 3-4 year olds already know that the brain has a set of mental functions, such as dreaming, wanting, thinking, keeping secrets, etc., Some also knew it had physical functions (such as making you move, or helping you stay alive, etc.). In contrast, children with autism (but who again had a mental age above a 4 year old level) appear to know about the physical functions, but typically fail to mention any mental function of the brain” ** (p. 4) **.

**__The appearance-reality distinction__**: “Children from about the age of 4 years old normally are able to distinguish between appearance and reality, that is, they can talk about objects which have misleading appearances. For example, they may say, when presented with a candle fashioned in the shape of an apple, that it looks like an apple but is really a candle” ** (p. 4) **

**__First-order false belief tasks__**: “These tasks relate to the understanding that different people can have different thoughts about the same situation. They are called first-order tests because they only involve inferring one person’s mental state” ** (p.5) **

“A large number of studies have demonstrated that children with autism have difficulties in shifting their perspective to judge what someone else might think, instead simply reporting what they themselves know” ** (p. 5) **.

**__"Seeing leads to knowing" tests__**: “Another corner stone of typically developing children’s theory of mind is understanding where knowledge comes from, so that they can work out who knows what, and more importantly, who doesn’t know what” ** (p. 6) **.

“In contrast, children with autism are virtually at chance on this test, as likely to indicate one character as the other when asked ‘Which one knows what’s in the box?’”** (p. 6) **.

**__Tests of recognizing mental state words__**: “By 4 years old, normally developing children can also pick out words from a word list that refer to what goes on in the mind, or what the mind can do” ** (p. 6) **.

**__Tests of production of the same range of mental state words in their spontaneous speech__**: ** (p. 7) ** “The previous finding dovetails with reports that children with autism produce fewer mental state words in their spontaneous descriptions of picture stories involving action and deception, and in their conversational discourse, compared to their normal counterparts”** (p. 7) **

**__Tests of the production of spontaneous pretend play__**: “Many studies have reported a lower frequency of pretend play in the spontaneous play of children with autism. This might reflect a failure to reflect on one’s own imagination - a mindreading deficit” ** (p. 7) **

**__Tests of understanding more complex causes of emotion (such as beliefs)__**: “Found that normal 4-6 year olds understand all 3 types of emotional causation. In contrast, studies show that children with autism with this mental age have difficulty with mental states as causes of emotion” ** (p. 7-8) **

**__Tests of inferring from gaze-direction when a person is thinking, or what a person might want__**: “We now know that from gaze-direction, children as young as 4 years old can work out when someone is thinking about something (e.g., gaze directed upwards and away, at nothing in particular, strongly signifies the person is thinking). Gaze-direction also allows young normal children to work out which of several objects a person wants, or might be interested in, or might be referring to” ** (p. 8). **

**__Tests of being able to monitor one’s own intentions__**: “Working out why people behave as they do is all about keeping track of people’s intentions, since tracking actions alone gives a description of what people do, but not why they do it” ** (p. 9) **.

**__Tests of deception__**: “A number of studies show that by the age of 4 years old the normally developing child is showing both an interest in deception, and beginning to practice it. Children with autism, when studied under experimental conditions, have been shown to have difficulties both in production of deception, but also in understanding when someone else is deceiving them”** (p. 9) **

**__Tests of understanding metaphor, sarcasm, jokes, and irony__**: “Figurative speech requires an understanding of the speaker’s intentions, in order to move beyond the literal level of simply mapping words onto their referents. Examples of figurative language include sarcasm (‘How clean your room looks today!’, uttered by an exasperated parent to her child), and metaphor (‘she’s got a sharp tongue!’)” ** (p. 10) **.

“Children as young as 3 years old heard utterances like ‘This is a shoe’, spoken by the experimenter whilst pointing at a cup, and were asked why the experimenter said that. Whereas even normal children referred to the speaker ‘joking’ and ‘pretending’, in their explanation, children with autism tended to refer to the speaker having got it wrong (‘it’s not a shoe, it’s a cup’ etc.,)” ** (p. 10) **.

**__Tests of pragmatics__**: “Understanding figurative speech and humor is just a subset of pragmatics, or the use of language appropriate to the social context. Pragmatics includes at least the following: tailoring one’s speech to a particular listener; adapting the content of one’s speech to what your listener already knows or needs to know; respecting conversational maxims such as being truthful, relevant, concise, and polite; turn-taking appropriately so that there is space for both participants in the dialogue; being sensitive to the other person’s contribution to the conversation; recognizing what is the wrong or right thing to say in a particular context; staying on topic; and appropriately helping your listener to follow when a topic change is occurring” ** (p. 11) **.

**__Tests of imagination__**: “Imagination is relevant to theory of mind since it involves an unreal world that exists purely in your mind, and being able to reflect on this virtual world. The virtual world is the content of one’s mental state of imagining. One study of children with autism investigated the ability to draw pictures of unreal or impossible objects (such as two-headed people), and found that children with autism were either reluctant or less able to produce such drawings” ** (p. 12) **.

**__Correlation with real-life social skills__**:

**__Second-order false belief tests__**: “Second-order tests involve considering embedded mental states, e.g., what John thinks that Mary thinks. Whereas first-order tests correspond to a 4 year old mental age level, second-order tests correspond to a 6 year old mental age level. Second-order tests can be another way of revealing if there is a specific developmental delay in theory of mind at a later point in development. However, some individuals with high-functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome may pass even second-order false belief tests by their teens” ** (p. 13-14) **.

Since there appears to be so much already on the text, I would hate to repeat myself. I did get curious about our guy, Simon Baron-Cohen, as to who he is, what he's done and I wanted to read more about the Theory of Mind. These are my interpretation from the content gleaned off Wikipedia.


 * Simon Baron-Cohen began his popularity around 1985 when he co-authored the first study to link children with autism to the development of a theory of mind, he is considered a leader in autism research.
 * The Theory of Mind article starts off with defining the steps necessary for defining such a theory, such steps as being able to assume that the other party also has a brain. The "Sally-Anne" task was intriguing and shows part of the concept of Theory of Mind. Deficits of the ToM have been found in people with autism, schizophrenics, drunks, narcotics dependence, sleep deprivation and people who experience severe emotional or physical pain. Simon Baron-Cohen was one of 3 scientists attributed to the linking of ToM to autism. The article ends with a recap of the scientific discoveries made regarding autism and ToM.


 * **As stated on p. 14, "Misreading deficits in autism spectrum conditions appear to be early occurring and universal". I feel the point Baron-Cohen was establishing was that the tests are inconclusive evidence to suggest that a child would have under-developed cognitive skills. More testing, such as neuroimaging, would be required to make a diagnosis.**


 * It was interesting to me that this was a paper on autism but it didnt really make understanding the disorder much clearer. I feel like I walked away with more questions than answers.** **Also, like our last article, I was left wanting to see his actual studies.** **He starts out with the broad statement that "A theory of mind remains one of the quintessential abilities that makes us human" (p. 3) Which I do agree with, I just think that there can be many different ways of expressing that theory.**


 * I feel that Baron Cohen has a very set theory of "normal vs. deficit" and there wasnt much (if any) leeway for a different method for a persons "theory of mind." An example being one he himself quotes,** **"An even more dramatic demonstration of this deficit on this task reported in an Oxbridge University Mathematics Professor with Asperger syndrome, who had won the equivalent of the Nobel Prize (the Field Metal)." (p. 14) This is a bit of a tangent but it makes me speculate on how it seems to me sometimes that we have such concrete notions on "normal and abnormal" and we are trying to push as many people as we can into the normal category that we are willing to sacrifice creativity, individuality etc.**