Levels of complexity of Theory of Mind – developmental and comparative perspectives (B03)

• Subject Area: Developmental and Educational Psychology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 454648639

How do different forms of Theory of Mind develop in human ontogeny? How may they have emerged over evolution? The present project presents and tests a comprehensive theoretical approach to these questions that distinguishes between different forms and levels of complexity of Theory of Mind. Analogous Theory of Mind tasks will be administered with humans across the lifespan and with nonhuman primates. It is expected that human infants and non-human primates master tasks of a basic level of complexity, but that only older children and adults with sufficient linguistic experience come to master tasks of higher levels of complexity. These studies will contribute to a refined picture of shared primate and uniquely human social cognition.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1528: Cognition of Interaction
• Applicant Institution: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Johannes Rakoczy