Theory of mind — MRCPsych Paper A MCQ

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ModeratePsychologyTheory of mindMRCPsych Paper A

A 4-year-old watches Sally place a toy in a basket and then leave the room. While Sally is absent, another child moves the toy into a box. When asked where Sally will first look for the toy, the child answers, “In the basket.” Which developmental cognitive capacity is primarily assessed by this task?

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Correct answer: B — Theory of mind

The correct answer is **E, theory of mind**. Sally did not witness the transfer, so she falsely believes that the toy remains in the basket. Predicting that she will act according to this false belief demonstrates an ability to represent another person’s mental state as distinct from both reality and the child’s own knowledge. This is the basis of the classic false-belief task, typically passed at around 4 years. Object permanence is understanding that an unseen object continues to exist. Conservation is recognising that quantity remains constant despite perceptual transformation. Habituation is reduced responding after repeated exposure, while stimulus generalisation is responding similarly to stimuli resembling a learned stimulus.

Reference: Schidelko LP, Rakoczy H. Why Do Children From Age 4 Fail True Belief Tasks? A Decision Experiment Testing Competence Versus Performance Limitation Accounts. Cognitive Science. 2025;49(6):e70069. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40478609/