Teorija uma je sposobnost pripisivanja mentalnih stanja drugima. Do prije otprilike 20 godina empirijska istraživanja upućivala su na to da je teorija uma kognitivno zahtjevna sposobnost koja se ...razvija oko četvrte godine života. Međutim, sve veći broj istraživanja koja koriste zadatke koji ne zahtijevaju verbalne odgovore upućuje na to da sposobnost koja nalikuje na teoriju uma postoji i izvan kognitivne kontrole te da je pokazuju već i djeca stara devet mjeseci. Ovaj pregledni rad predstavit će tri glavna tipa teorija koje pokušavaju objasniti te novije empirijske rezultate i raspraviti o njima. Nadalje, u radu će biti istaknuti empirijski nalazi koji idu u prilog svakoj od tih teorija ili je opovrgavaju. Iako postoje prijedlozi za kritične eksperimente koji bi trebali moći napraviti razliku između teorija, trenutačno ti prijedlozi još nisu dovoljno korisni za te svrhe jer se podatci koji bi se mogli dobiti takvim eksperimentima mogu u različitim teorijama različito interpretirati. Stoga je važno da se budući rad o teoriji uma fokusira na uklanjanje dvosmislenosti u predviđanjima i interpretacijama svake od teorija.
Theory of Mind is the ability to attribute mental states to others. Until around 20 years ago most evidence pointed to Theory of Mind being a cognitively demanding skill that likely develops at around 4 years of age. However, there is a growing body of literature based on experiments that do not rely on verbal measures that suggests that Theory of Mind-like abilities may occur outside of cognitive control and in infants as young as 9 months. This review discusses the three main types of account that have been proposed as explanations of these new results. Furthermore, it highlights the evidence supporting and contrasting each type of account. There is currently no single account that provides an uncontested explanation of all current data, however, one of the reasons for this is that there is a degree of ambiguity in the predictions and interpretations of each of the accounts making it challenging for any set of experiments to refute an account. Consequently, the future of research on Theory of Mind appears to rely on these accounts producing less ambiguous predictions that cannot be insulated from refutation.
Neurokognitivna perspektiva primjenjuje se kao ishodište za prepoznavanje objektivnih uzroka poremećaja iz autističkog spektra, kao i komunikacijskih teškoća koje proizlaze iz samog poremećaja. To se ...ishodište nadograđuje kroz studiju slučaja praćenu posredstvom filmskog djela Temple Grandin redatelja Micka Jacksona. Upozorava se na sposobnost filmskog medija i kreativnih praksi da komunikacijske teškoće osoba s poremećajem iz autističkog spektra približe svijesti većine te da doprinese kvalitetnijem tretiranju pacijenata, kao i prevladavanju društvenih predrasuda, unapređivanju kvalitete komunikacije te višem stupnju integracije osoba s poremećajem iz autističkog spektra u sferu socijalne stvarnosti.
The connection and interaction between executive functions and theory of mind have not yet been clearly defined in psychological research. Executive functions and theory of mind play a significant ...role in the development of the individual, starting from simple patterns of infant behaviour to the development of imaginative play and autonomy of children, through to planning and organising careers and families in early adulthood. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between selected aspects of executive functions (inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) and theory of mind for children aged four and five, and to determine which aspect has the greatest value for predicting achievement in tasks involving the theory of mind. In order to determine the relationship between executive functions and theory of mind in preschool children, a set of tasks was applied individually to a sample of 203 children aged four and five. Executive functions were evaluated using the CANTAB test battery, and theory of mind was assessed using the NEPSY-II test battery. Verbal working memory was a significant predictor of theory of mind in children as young as four, and verbal working memory and cognitive flexibility were significant predictors of theory of mind at the age of five. At both ages, verbal working memory was the strongest single predictor of theory of mind. These results suggest that pre-school development is very dynamic, cognitive functions differentiate and restructure with age, and the relationship between variables of executive functions and theory of mind changes during development.
Cilj je ovog istraživanja prijevod i adaptacija revidirane verzije Testa čitanja misli iz očiju (Reading the mind in the eyes test, Baron-Cohen i sur., 2001) na hrvatski jezik kako bi se ispitala ...njegova pouzdanost, faktorska struktura te konvergentna valjanost u populaciji hrvatskih studenata urednog razvoja. Nakon prijevoda i adaptacije hrvatska je verzija Testa čitanja misli iz očiju primijenjena na uzorku od 146 studenata preddiplomskih i diplomskih studija (84 djevojke i 62 mladića). Osim Testa čitanja misli iz očiju primijenjena je i Skala emocionalne empatije (Raboteg-Šarić, 1993). Rezultati pokazuju nisku pouzdanost tipa unutarnje konzistencije te prihvatljivu pouzdanost mjerenu Hkoeficijentom maksimalne pouzdanosti. Konfirmatorna faktorska analiza granično potvrđuje jednodimenzionalni model. Konvergentna valjanost granično je potvrđena kroz statistički značajnu pozitivnu povezanost Testa čitanja misli iz očiju i empatije. Naposljetku, kreirana je i kratka verzija Testa čitanja misli iz očiju koja se sastoji od svega sedam čestica zadovoljavajućih saturacija. Pouzdanost tipa unutarnje konzistencije te kompozitna pouzdanost ovoga kratkog testa su zadovoljavajuće. U budućim je istraživanjima potrebno dodatno ispitati psihometrijske značajke hrvatske verzije Testa čitanja misli u očima u općoj reprezentativnoj populaciji. Nadalje, potrebno je ispitati test-retest pouzdanost te diskriminativnu valjanost ovog testa.
Teorija uma odnosi se na sposobnost pripisivanja neopažljivih mentalnih stanja sebi i drugima te upotrebe tih stanja u objašnjavanju i predviđanju ponašanja. Ta je sposobnost iznimno važna u ...svakodnevnim socijalnim interakcijama, a poteškoće u teoriji uma zamijećene su u različitim kliničkim stanjima. U radu su prikazane ključne razvojne promjene u teoriji uma u dojenačkoj i predškolskoj dobi te su razmotreni različiti pristupi procjeni teorije uma u tim razvojnim razdobljima. Detaljnije su opisani Ljestvica rane socijalne komunikacije (Mundy i sur., 2003), zadatci za ispitivanje razumijevanja želja, emocija i netočnih vjerovanja, Ljestvica teorije uma (Wellman i Liu, 2004), pristup temeljen na proučavanju dječjega govora o mentalnim stanjima i onaj temeljen na procjenama skrbnika. Naposljetku su opisani nalazi koji upućuju na značaj teorije uma u djece urednoga razvoja, kao i na važnost procjene teorije uma u okviru rane dijagnostike određenih razvojnih poteškoća i poremećaja.
Theory of mind refers to the ability to attribute unobservable mental states to self and to others and to use these states to explain and predict behavior. This ability is extremely important in ...everyday social interactions, while difficulties in theory of mind are observed in different clinical states. In this paper, key developmental changes in theory of mind during infancy and preschool years are described and different approaches to the assessment of theory of mind in these developmental periods are discussed. A more detailed description is provided of the Early Social Communication Scales (Mundy et al., 2003), tasks examining children's understanding of desires, emotions and false beliefs, the Theory of Mind Scale (Wellman & Liu, 2004), the approach based on the investigation of children's mental state talk and on caregiver ratings. Finally, findings illustrating the importance of theory of mind in typically developing children as well as the importance of the assessment of theory of mind in early diagnostic procedures for certain developmental difficulties and disorders are described. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
The aim of this research was to investigate the correlations of mental talk in children aged 17 to 37 months and some family characteristics: the socio-economic status, parents' education, the number ...of siblings and parents' mental talk. The participants were 106 children and one of their parents. We collected speech samples for children and their parents to analyze their mental state talk about desires, thoughts and emotions. Other data were collected from one of the parents through a questionnaire. The results show that the parents of children who had more mental state of desire talk, talked more about desires and about thoughts as well, but not about emotions. Furthermore, parents whose children had at least one mental state of desire utterance talked significantly more about desires and thoughts than parents whose children had no such utterances. There were no significant correlations between children's mental state talk about desires and other family variables. The results point to the importance of studying family characteristics in relation to children's mental state talk, which is considered an indicator of theory of mind development.
Autism spectrum disorders are developmental disorders manifested through difficulties in social interactions and communication as well as by displaying stereotypical behaviour, interests and ...activities. Given that clinical features of autism spectrum disorders vary in gravity and symptoms, it is considered justifiable to speak of a spectrum of developmental disorders. Different theories exist as to the origin of the disorder. Autism spectrum disorders were first explained by the "refrigerator mother" theory; later by theories emphasizing difficulties in perception and finally by theories based on memory difficulties. New theories interpret autism spectrum disorders as primarily an executive functions disorder (problems in capability for inhibition, planning, cognitive flexibility, self-monitoring, generativity), or as primarily a deficit in the theory of mind defined as capability of ascribing mental states to oneself and others, or by the theory of weak central coherence. Each of the mentioned theories explains only some of the disorder aspects and symptoms. Currently, no theory has been proposed which would explain all aspects of the disorder or which would be unique for autism spectrum disorders. Considering that theories interpreting autism spectrum disorders as executive function disorder and theory of mind deficit are the ones most widely accepted, this paper presents an overview of research done on those two theories. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
Ovaj pregledni rad predstavlja povijesnu pozadinu i teorijski okvir koncepta te razvoj instrumenata koji mjere aleksitimiju. Koncept aleksitimije proizašao je iz kliničkog promatranja, bez prethodno ...osmišljenog teorijskog okvira. Danas je aleksitimija dio kognitivne teorije i teorije regulacije afekta. Aleksitimija je pobudila veliko zanimanje psihoanalitičara, kao i kliničara drugih teorijskih usmjerenja. Koncept je nastao iz kliničkih iskustava sa psihosomatskim bolesnicima kod kojih je uočen nezadovoljavajući odgovor na psihoterapiju. U ovom radu opisujemo razvoj od kategorijskog do dimenzijskog koncepta aleksitimije. Aleksitimija se može razumjeti kao obrambeni mehanizam, ali i kao patologija deficita. Preklapa se s konceptom mentalizacije.
Mogu se razlikovati njene state i trait karakteristike. U završnom dijelu članka navedeni su svi instrumenti za mjerenje aleksitimije.
Socijalna kognicija uključuje procese obrade socijalnih signala i spoznaju o ljudima kao o društvenim bićima (spoznaja o njihovim osjećajima, namjerama i motivaciji, znanjima i vjerovanjima). ...Općenito, ona se odnosi na sve kognitivne procese koji su aktivni u opažanju ponašanja i zaključivanju o mentalnim stanjima drugih ljudi. Odstupanja u razvoju socijalne kognicije mogu se prepoznati već u dojenačkoj dobi. U ovom radu prikazana su obilježja socijalne kognicije u tri različita tipa teškoća. Skupine djece s poremećajem iz spektra autizma (PSA-om), posebnim jezičnim teškoćama (PJT-om) i intelektualnim teškoćama pokazuju odstupanja u socijalnoj kogniciji, no njihova se obilježja socijalne kognicije razlikuju. U ranom razdoblju dok djeca još nemaju dijagnozu, moguće su teškoće u razlikovanju ovih poremećaja zbog sličnih obilježja. Poznavanjem razlika koje djeca pokazuju u razvoju socijalne kognicije, olakšana je i rana dijagnostika te diferencijalna dijagnostika između navedenih skupina. Budući da su obilježja socijalne kognicije povezana s usvajanjem jezika i komunikacije, poznavanjem obilježja socijalne kognicije u ove tri dijagnostičke skupine logopedi će moći osmisliti i provoditi primjerene oblike podrške.
Social cognition includes processing of social signals and understanding people as social beings (their feelings, intentions and motivation, knowledge and beliefs). In general, social cognition can be said to include all cognitive processes that involve other people. Deviations in the development of social cognition can already be recognized in infants. This paper describes the features of social cognition in three different types of childhood difficulty. Although groups with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), specific language impairment (SLI) and intellectual disabilities all demonstrate deviations in social cognition, the features of social cognition are different in each group. At an early age, when most children still do not have a firm diagnosis, it can be hard to differentiate between these disorders because of their similar features. With an awareness of the differences children in these groups demonstrate in the development of social cognition, the early diagnostic procedure is easier and diagnostic procedures between groups can be differentiated. Because the features of social cognition are associated with language acquisition and communication, knowledge of the characteristics of social cognition in these three diagnostic groups will also help speech and language pathologists to implement appropriate support.