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# Does the autistic child have a “theory of mind”?

## Details

**Authors** Baron-Cohen et al.

**Year** 1985

**Publisher** Cognition

**Discipline** Human Development

[Read it at the publisher](https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277(85)90022-8) 
10.1016/0010-0277(85)90022-8

## In authors' words

### What they set out to do (purpose)

To develop the concept of a “theory of mind,” through their experiments and analyses on children with autism.

### What they found (results)

their results after testing both normal and autistic children showed that while the normal children pointed to where Sally had put the marble in the first place, the autistic children however, pointed to where the marble had been moved.

## Commentary

### In short

Theory of mind, which is a form of Perspective taking, is a process of the psychological development of children.

### In more detail

Perhaps the most known work about theory of mind is Baron-Cohen et. al. 1985 who wrote the paper that developed the concept of a “theory of mind,” through their experiments and analyses on children with autism. They developed the Sally-Anne test, which is a psychological test designed to see if one can attribute a false belief to another. The Sally-Anne test is depicted in the image below:

There were two doll protagonists, Sally and Anne. First, we checked that the children knew which doll was which (Naming Question). Sally first placed a marble into her basket. Then she left the scene, and the marble was transferred by Anne and hidden in her box. Then, when Sally returned, the experimenter asked the critical Belief Question: “Where will Sally look for her marble?“ If the children point to the previous location of the marble, then they pass the Belief Question by appreciating the doll’s now false belief. If however, they point to the marble’s current location, then they fail the question by not taking into account the doll’s belief (page 41).

It is designed to test if the children can step out of their own Perspective and take Sally’s. Their results after testing both normal and autistic children showed that while the normal children pointed to where Sally had put the marble in the first place, the autistic children however, pointed to where the marble had been moved. Theory of mind, which is a form of Perspective taking, is a process of the psychological development of children.

**Patterns it shows** P

**How to cite this** Baron-Cohen et al. (1985). Does the autistic child have a “theory of mind”?. Cognition.