This book comprises 26 exciting chapters by internationally renowned scholars, addressing the central psychological process separating humans from other animals: the ability to imagine the thoughts and feelings of others, and to reflect on the contents of our own minds-a “theory of mind” (ToM). The four sections of the book cover developmental, cultural, and neurobiological approaches to ToM across different populations and species. The chapters explorethe earliest stages of development of ToMin infancy, and how plastic ToM learning is; why 3-year-olds typically fail false belief tasks and how ... More

This book comprises 26 exciting chapters by internationally renowned scholars, addressing the central psychological process separating humans from other animals: the ability to imagine the thoughts and feelings of others, and to reflect on the contents of our own minds-a “theory of mind” (ToM). The four sections of the book cover developmental, cultural, and neurobiological approaches to ToM across different populations and species. The chapters explorethe earliest stages of development of ToMin infancy, and how plastic ToM learning is; why 3-year-olds typically fail false belief tasks and how ToMcontinues to develop beyond childhoodinto adulthood;the debate between “simulation theory” and “theory theory”; cross-cultural perspectives on ToM and how ToM develops differently in deaf children; how we use our ToM when we make moral judgments, and the link between emotional intelligence and ToM; the neural basis of ToMmeasured by evoked response potentials,functional magnetic resonance imaging, and studies of brain damage; “emotional”vs. “cognitive” empathy in neuropsychiatric conditions such as autism, schizophrenia, and psychopathy; the concept of self in autism and teaching methods targeting ToM deficits; the relationship between empathy,the ‘pain matrix’ and the mirror neuron system; the role of oxytocin and fetal testosterone in mentalizing and empathy; the heritability of empathy andcandidate single nucleotide polymorphismsassociated with empathy; andToM innon-human primates. These 26 chapters represent a masterly overview of a field that has deepened since the first editionwas published in 1993.