Few aspects of understanding are as important as–in psychologist-speak–Theory of Mind, or ToM. This is the ability to understand the unseen, internal states of mind that underlie and direct behavior. Without it, each of us would be opaque to the other, tied only to the behaviors we observe. With ToM in our cognitive arsenal, we can smoothly, intuitively, and usually accurately infer why another is doing something and guess what they might be thinking. We call on ToM to understand when and how the mental states of another would differ from our own. Let’s say I’ve bought a surprise birthday present for my child, and hidden it very well in the dark recesses of the closet. Knowing my son hasn’t seen me do this, I rightly infer that he won’t head straight for the closet. (This assumes I’ve been clever enough to outwit him!) In other words, my ToM tells me that he doesn’t know what I know, and so he would be acting out of his own knowledge, not mine.
This all seems so obvious, you might think that children are born equipped with ToM. The classic test of ToM is the Sally-Anne test, which 4 to 5 year olds generally pass with flying colors, but which stumps younger children. In this story, Sally puts a ball into a basket, covers it, and leaves the room. Anne takes the ball out, and puts it into a closed box. When Sally returns, where does she look for her ball? If we understand that Sally cannot know about Anne’s trick, that Sally’s mental state is different from Anne’s, we would say that Sally will look in the basket. Three year olds insist that Sally will look in the box, since they know that the ball is really there. Understanding that individuals can have false beliefs based on their experience is a giant step toward an accurate ToM. In studies of young children, understanding false beliefs–such as through the Sally-Anne test–is linked to greater social skills, more popularity with other kids and greater overall competence.
What contributes to ToM? Maturation of the brain plays a role, but so do social experiences. Research shows that parents who use mental state language and do so accurately have children who do better at ToM tasks. These parents are called “mind minded.” They comment frequently on what others might be thinking and feeling to explain their behavior. Social play with other children is also a way to learn about ToM. To get along in group play and especially pretend play, a child has to think about the perspectives of other children, not only his or her own.
Like many other aspects of development, children’s relations with non-humans have been ignored. The study of ToM addresses only what we think about other people’s minds and emotions. Yet, with 75 percent of all U.S. children living with animals in their homes, we know that they (and their families) are taking animal minds and emotions into account all the time. Why is Fido whining by the door? Does he need a walk? Is he missing Dad who should be home by now? Is Fido feeling sick or does he just want attention? Pet owners scan their pet’s behavior to infer those unseen mental and emotional states that are the hallmark of ToM. So it is likely that we develop or apply what we already know, to the animals that live with us, as well as the humans.
It’s possible that living with animals might stimulate the development of ToM, not just about other animals, but even about other people. Having a pet requires an imaginative leap into the internal life of another species. We can’t just generalize from how we think and feel and assume that another species would think and feel the same. As we struggle to figure out what might be going on in that canine, feline, or bird brain, we are stretching out empathic muscles. We are recognizing how differently the world might seem from the brain of another creature. Psychological studies of ToM and children’s relationships with animals don’t yet exist. Hopefully researchers will begin to explore this hidden terrain of childhood. What indeed is in that bird brain?