Theory of Mind/Sally-Anne Effect.....

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No, THINK about what is asked. Sally cannot know what has happened during her absence. To say that her marble is still in the basket, where she left it, is an ASSUMPTION, and not necessarily what is truth by probability. Sally's marble MAY be in the basket, but how does she know? She was away; Anne was left with the marble. If you make the assumption, you are using forward thinking, which works some of the time, but, especially in science, NOT warranted! Neurotypicals are considered 'holistic' thinkers whereas the autistic mind is considered analytical, by definition. This is why, in sum.

By the way, I am a chemist with a strong and diverse science background. I am in the PhD program currently (neuroscience). Previously, I have worked as an Analyst/Chemist in laboratory. Lab is my home - always. Anyway, I have seen MANY trip themselves up by making this sort of assumption! Do not succumb. In social situations, this version of assumption is fine. In science/math - doesn't cut it.

I made the statement about learning it, but this is exactly what i meant. It is a mimicry that allows one to get around it. You dont truly gain it. Agreed. Agreed.



That was my exact reaction. I thought "It could be in either." At the same time, i knew that they expected answer was "where she left it." I'm 35. So somethings will never change. I consider that the open minded answer. Maybe a better way to put it is that we are willing to accept that things can change outside our view?

Ahh, I get it now. I didn't get it before, but it's perfectly logic.

But one thing I'm not sure about. There are two answers to this I think and one is... uh, 'cleverer' maybe than the other? I think mine is the un-clever one (I wasn't clever as a kid, oh well) yours is the clever one, because yours is a logical response that sees many possible variables and thus predicts a more reasonable outcome.

Based on my own experience, I now know that there's more going on than I can, that Anne has the right to interfere with the marble's hiding place, but when I was younger, I didn't 'get' that. I didn't realise that other people had the ability to interfere my actions and alter them in any way. I didn't get it until after I realised people were like me, thinking, feeling and with a mind of their own and thus could interfere in my life. Thinking about this, I suppose that's TOM too, just a lot more basic.

So, in a way, both scenarios and both questions tests the same basis, whether one has a TOM or not (or tries to imitate it?), but they determine this from different point of views. Interesting! I'll write down the Sally-Anne scenario you described if that's okay, I didn't think about this yet.




You're welcome. I felt the same way about the TOM until that discussion yesterday too, I couldn't quite see the connection between theory and reality before!

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them” – Einstein

A. Einstein's forensic Dx is HFA/Aspergers Syndrome. He 'gets it!'