Theory of Mind
Classic Definition
The ability to attribute mental states - beliefs, intents, desires, pretending, knowledge, etc. - to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs, desires, and intentions that are different from one's own. This is the COGNITIVE DEFINITIIOn Cognitive Theory of Mind
Affective Theory of Mind
Affective Cognitive ToM - Awareness and reflection on one's own emotions - Ability to recognize or infer what others are feeling Affective empathy: the drive to respond appropriately to others' emotions
False-Belief Tasks
Younger children (3 - 5 years old) typically fail because they cannot separate the doll's perspective from their own knowledge.Children on the autism spectrum often experience delays in developing this skill.
Interpersonal Cognitive TOM
Intrapersonal Cognitive TOM
- Ask the child if she prefers toothpaste or M&Ms for a snack. Child says M&Ms and is then handed a wrapped box. The child opens the box and finds M&Ms.- What did you think was in the box before you opened it?
- Mary plays a trick on Sam, whose favorite snack is M&Ms. Mary puts M&Ms in a toothpaste box and puts the box on Sam's table.- What did Sam think was inside the toothpaste box before opening it?
Interpersonal Affective TOM
Intrapersonal Affective TOM
How did you feel about what was in the box before you opened it?
How did Sam feel about what was inside the box before opening it?
Mirror Neurons
A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes or hears the same action performed by another. Thus, the neuron "mirrors" the behavior of the other, as though the observer were itself acting.
Foundation of TOM: Attuned interactions
Birth - 17 months:- Affective coordination between the gestures and expressions of the infant and those of caregivers with whom they interact. - Likely related to mirror neurons
Affective Cognitive TOM: Referencing
9-12 Months- Borrowing the perspective of another person - Using other's reactions as a reference point - Determining the emotional meaning of an unfamiliar person or object
Visual content is a cross-cutting, universal language, like music. We are able to understand images from millions of years ago, even f
High Elaboration & High Autonomy
• Child: I talked to the balloon pilot • Adult: You talked to the balloon pilot? What did he tell you? • Child: How to make the balloon go up. • Adult: Yes, he showed you how to pull the cord to ignite the burner. That made the air inside the balloon hot. The hot air made the balloon rise. • Child: The burner was real hot. • Adult: Yes, it was very hot so you needed to be careful not to touch it. • Child: Then the balloon went up • Adult: I think you were a little bit scared when it left the ground
Visual content is a cross-cutting, universal language, like music. We are able to understand images from millions of years ago, even f
Counterfactual Reasoning
• Thinking about how an event might have turned out differentlyEnables us to learn from our mistakes
RemIniscing
- Recall/talk about past experience
- Relate emotions linked to the experience
- Reflect on/evaluate the experienc
- When talking about experiences:
- Use mental state terms (think/thought, know, remember, forget, believe, hope, idea plan)
- Use emotion words (excited, thrilled, discusted frustrated, worried, jealous)
Visual content is a cross-cutting, universal language, like music. We are able to understand images from millions of years ago, even f
Think Alouds
]Intrapersonal ToM - Reflecting on what one knows/doesn't know; understands/doesn't understand; what one can do if they do not understand. Interpersonal ToM - Inferring what another might be thinking, feeling
Questions to Ask
Timeline
To tell stories in a ordered, hierarchical, structured, and concise manner. These are the four pillars for delivering a successful presentation.
20XX
20XX
20XX
20XX
Design
Plan
Communicate
Structure
20XX
20XX
20XX
20XX
Structure
Surprise
Design
Plan
Graphic + text
The graphics are very shareable, making them ideal for social media, and to top it off: they tend to generate quality traffic for the content we create.
REcognizing Likes & Dislikes of Others
Affective TOM
Table + text
Showing enthusiasm, flashing a smile, and maintaining eye contact with your audience can be your best allies when telling stories that excite and capture the public's interest: 'The eyes, chico. They never lie'. This will help you connect with your audience.Leave them speechless!
List / Process
We need to interact with each other.We learn in a collaborative way.
We tell thousands and thousands of stories. ⅔ ofour conversationsare stories.
We are capable of understanding images from millions of years ago, even from other cultures.
Social beings
Narrative beings
Visual beings
Audio
Your content captivates if it is interactive
It is essential to make the necessary checks. There should not be a single typo!
This is a paragraph ready to contain creativity, experiences, and great stories.
Inserted content
Write a great text by clicking on Text in the left sidebar. Note: fonts, size, and color should match the theme you are addressing.
Social network
Music
Map
Interactive question
Your content captures attention if it is interactive
Interactive Question
Interactive Question
Interactive Question
Don’t forgetto publish!
Did you know that...
Did you know we retain 42% more information when content is animated? It may be the most effective resource for capturing your audience's attention.
Write agreat headline
Write a great text by clicking on Text in the left sidebar. Note: the fonts, size, and color should match the theme you are addressing.
Did you know that...
Did you know that we retain 42% more information when content is animated? It may be the most effective resource for capturing your audience's attention.
Did you know that...
Do we retain 42% more information when content is animated? It may be the most effective resource to capture your audience's attention.
Attention!
In Genially, we use AI (Awesome Interactivity) in all our designs, so you can level up with interactivity and turn your content into something that adds value and engages.
Tip:
Interactivity is the key piece to capture the interest and attention of your audience. A genially is interactive because your audience explores and engageswith it.
You can use this function...
To highlight super relevant data. 90% of the information we assimilate comesthrough sight.
With this feature...
You can add additional content that excites your audience's brain: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whatever you want!
Did you know that...
In Genially, you will find more than 1,000 ready-made templates for you to introduce your content and personalize them, which will help you tell your stories.
With this feature...
You can add additional content that excites your audience's brain: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whateveryou want!
Here you can put a highlighted title
With Genially templates, you can include visual resources to leave your audience speechless. You can also highlight a specific phrase or fact that will be etched in your audience's memory and even embed external content that surprises: videos, photos, audios... Whateveryou want!You can add additional content that excites your audience's brain: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whatever you want!
With this feature...
You can add additional content that excites the brain of your audience: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whatever you want!
Tip:
Emotional connection or engagement with your content increases when you get your audience to identify with the message you want to convey.
Tip:
Interactivity is the key piece to capturing the interest and attention of your audience. A genially is interactive because your audience explores and engages with it.
Theory of Mind
Mauri Sorensen
Created on November 6, 2025
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Transcript
Theory of Mind
Classic Definition
The ability to attribute mental states - beliefs, intents, desires, pretending, knowledge, etc. - to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs, desires, and intentions that are different from one's own. This is the COGNITIVE DEFINITIIOn Cognitive Theory of Mind
Affective Theory of Mind
Affective Cognitive ToM - Awareness and reflection on one's own emotions - Ability to recognize or infer what others are feeling Affective empathy: the drive to respond appropriately to others' emotions
False-Belief Tasks
Younger children (3 - 5 years old) typically fail because they cannot separate the doll's perspective from their own knowledge.Children on the autism spectrum often experience delays in developing this skill.
Interpersonal Cognitive TOM
Intrapersonal Cognitive TOM
- Ask the child if she prefers toothpaste or M&Ms for a snack. Child says M&Ms and is then handed a wrapped box. The child opens the box and finds M&Ms.- What did you think was in the box before you opened it?
- Mary plays a trick on Sam, whose favorite snack is M&Ms. Mary puts M&Ms in a toothpaste box and puts the box on Sam's table.- What did Sam think was inside the toothpaste box before opening it?
Interpersonal Affective TOM
Intrapersonal Affective TOM
How did you feel about what was in the box before you opened it?
How did Sam feel about what was inside the box before opening it?
Mirror Neurons
A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes or hears the same action performed by another. Thus, the neuron "mirrors" the behavior of the other, as though the observer were itself acting.
Foundation of TOM: Attuned interactions
Birth - 17 months:- Affective coordination between the gestures and expressions of the infant and those of caregivers with whom they interact. - Likely related to mirror neurons
Affective Cognitive TOM: Referencing
9-12 Months- Borrowing the perspective of another person - Using other's reactions as a reference point - Determining the emotional meaning of an unfamiliar person or object
Visual content is a cross-cutting, universal language, like music. We are able to understand images from millions of years ago, even f
High Elaboration & High Autonomy
• Child: I talked to the balloon pilot • Adult: You talked to the balloon pilot? What did he tell you? • Child: How to make the balloon go up. • Adult: Yes, he showed you how to pull the cord to ignite the burner. That made the air inside the balloon hot. The hot air made the balloon rise. • Child: The burner was real hot. • Adult: Yes, it was very hot so you needed to be careful not to touch it. • Child: Then the balloon went up • Adult: I think you were a little bit scared when it left the ground
Visual content is a cross-cutting, universal language, like music. We are able to understand images from millions of years ago, even f
Counterfactual Reasoning
• Thinking about how an event might have turned out differentlyEnables us to learn from our mistakes
RemIniscing
Visual content is a cross-cutting, universal language, like music. We are able to understand images from millions of years ago, even f
Think Alouds
]Intrapersonal ToM - Reflecting on what one knows/doesn't know; understands/doesn't understand; what one can do if they do not understand. Interpersonal ToM - Inferring what another might be thinking, feeling
Questions to Ask
Timeline
To tell stories in a ordered, hierarchical, structured, and concise manner. These are the four pillars for delivering a successful presentation.
20XX
20XX
20XX
20XX
Design
Plan
Communicate
Structure
20XX
20XX
20XX
20XX
Structure
Surprise
Design
Plan
Graphic + text
The graphics are very shareable, making them ideal for social media, and to top it off: they tend to generate quality traffic for the content we create.
REcognizing Likes & Dislikes of Others
Affective TOM
Table + text
Showing enthusiasm, flashing a smile, and maintaining eye contact with your audience can be your best allies when telling stories that excite and capture the public's interest: 'The eyes, chico. They never lie'. This will help you connect with your audience.Leave them speechless!
List / Process
We need to interact with each other.We learn in a collaborative way.
We tell thousands and thousands of stories. ⅔ ofour conversationsare stories.
We are capable of understanding images from millions of years ago, even from other cultures.
Social beings
Narrative beings
Visual beings
Audio
Your content captivates if it is interactive
It is essential to make the necessary checks. There should not be a single typo!
This is a paragraph ready to contain creativity, experiences, and great stories.
Inserted content
Write a great text by clicking on Text in the left sidebar. Note: fonts, size, and color should match the theme you are addressing.
Social network
Music
Map
Interactive question
Your content captures attention if it is interactive
Interactive Question
Interactive Question
Interactive Question
Don’t forgetto publish!
Did you know that...
Did you know we retain 42% more information when content is animated? It may be the most effective resource for capturing your audience's attention.
Write agreat headline
Write a great text by clicking on Text in the left sidebar. Note: the fonts, size, and color should match the theme you are addressing.
Did you know that...
Did you know that we retain 42% more information when content is animated? It may be the most effective resource for capturing your audience's attention.
Did you know that...
Do we retain 42% more information when content is animated? It may be the most effective resource to capture your audience's attention.
Attention!
In Genially, we use AI (Awesome Interactivity) in all our designs, so you can level up with interactivity and turn your content into something that adds value and engages.
Tip:
Interactivity is the key piece to capture the interest and attention of your audience. A genially is interactive because your audience explores and engageswith it.
You can use this function...
To highlight super relevant data. 90% of the information we assimilate comesthrough sight.
With this feature...
You can add additional content that excites your audience's brain: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whatever you want!
Did you know that...
In Genially, you will find more than 1,000 ready-made templates for you to introduce your content and personalize them, which will help you tell your stories.
With this feature...
You can add additional content that excites your audience's brain: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whateveryou want!
Here you can put a highlighted title
With Genially templates, you can include visual resources to leave your audience speechless. You can also highlight a specific phrase or fact that will be etched in your audience's memory and even embed external content that surprises: videos, photos, audios... Whateveryou want!You can add additional content that excites your audience's brain: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whatever you want!
With this feature...
You can add additional content that excites the brain of your audience: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whatever you want!
Tip:
Emotional connection or engagement with your content increases when you get your audience to identify with the message you want to convey.
Tip:
Interactivity is the key piece to capturing the interest and attention of your audience. A genially is interactive because your audience explores and engages with it.