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In psychology, theory of mind refers to the capacity to understand other people by ascribing mental states to them. This includes the knowledge that others' mental states may be different from one's own states and include beliefs, desires, intentions, emotions, and thoughts. Possessing a functional theory of mind is considered crucial for success in everyday human social interactions. People use such a theory when analyzing, judging, and inferring others' behaviors. The discovery and development of theory of mind primarily came from studies done with animals and infants. Factors including drug and alcohol consumption, language development, cognitive delays, age, and culture can affect a person's capacity to display theory of mind.
Deficits in theory of mind can occur in people with autism spectrum disorders, anorexia nervosa, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cocaine addiction, and brain damage caused by alcohol's neurotoxicity; deficits associated with opiate addiction are reversed after prolonged abstinence. Having a theory of mind is similar to but not identical with having the capacity for empathy or for sympathy.
Theory of mind develops throughout childhood as the prefrontal cortex develops. The violation-of-expectation procedure uses infants' tendency to look longer at unexpected and surprising events. Most typically developing children are able to pass the False-belief task from around age four. Children from Iran and China in a culture of collectivism develop knowledge access earlier and understand diverse beliefs later than Western children in a culture of individualism.
Neuroimaging shows brain regions engaged during theory of mind include the medial prefrontal cortex , and area around posterior superior temporal sulcus , and sometimes precuneus and amygdala/temporopolar cortex. Patients with frontal lobe or temporoparietal junction lesions find some theory of mind tasks difficult.