Using fiction to assess mental state understanding: a new task for assessing theory of mind in adults.

ABSTRACT: Social functioning depends on the ability to attribute and reason about the mental states of others--an ability known as theory of mind (ToM). Research in this field is limited by the use of tasks in which ceiling effects are ubiquitous, rendering them insensitive to individual differences in ToM ability and instances of subtle ToM impairment. Here, we present data from a new ToM task--the Short Story Task (SST)--intended to improve upon many aspects of existing ToM measures. More specifically, the SST was designed to: (a) assess the full range of individual differences in ToM ability without suffering from ceiling effects; (b) incorporate a range of mental states of differing complexity, including epistemic states, affective states, and intentions to be inferred from a first- and second-o

SUBMITTER: Dodell-Feder D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3820595 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature