SpringerLink
Log in

Theory of Mind in Nonhuman Primates

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior

  • 79 Accesses

Synonyms

ToM

Definition

The ability to attribute mental states to self and others

Theory of Mind in Nonhuman Primates

In 1978, Premack and Woodruff inquired whether chimpanzees have a theory of mind. Today, researchers continue to consider this question more broadly by asking whether various nonhuman primates have a theory of mind. An organism with a theory of mind, generally, can attribute mental states to themselves and other organisms. Many consider theory of mind to be critical for success in human interactions involving a social component (e.g., Baron-Cohen, 1991). However, whether nonhuman primates also possess a theory of mind, when and under what conditions it emerges, and/or its utility in their interactions remains a subject of much debate (e.g., Heyes, 1998; Penn & Povinelli, 2007). Nonhuman primates are of particular interest to researchers due to their close evolutionary link to humans.

To investigate whether an organism possesses a theory of mind, nonhuman primate...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Baron-Cohen, S. (1991). Precursors to a theory of mind: Understanding attention in others. In A. Whiten (Ed.), Natural theories of mind: Evolution, development, and simulation of everyday mindreading (pp. 233–251). Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bräuer, J., Kaminski, J., Riedel, J., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. (2008). Making inferences about the location of hidden food: Social dog, causal ape. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 120, 38–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnside, K., Ruel, A., Azar, N., & Poulin-Dubois, D. (2018). Implicit false belief across the lifespan: Non-replication of an anticipatory looking task. Cognitive Development, 46, 4–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2017.08.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hare, B., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. (2006). Chimpanzees deceive a human competitor by hiding. Cognition, 101, 495–514.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heyes, C. M. (1998). Theory of mind in nonhuman primates. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 21, 101–148.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Horschler, D. J., MacLean, E. L., & Santos, L. R. (2020). Do non-human primates really represent others’ beliefs? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 24, 594–605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2020.05.009

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Karin-d’Arcy, M., & Povinelli, D. (2002). Do chimpanzees know what each other see? A closer look. International Journal of Comparative Psychology, 15, 21–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krupenye, C., Fumihiro, K., Hirata, S., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. (2016). Great apes anticipate that other individuals will act according to false beliefs. Science, 354, 110–114.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kulke, L., Johannsen, J., & Rakoczy, H. (2019). Why can some implicit Theory of Mind tasks be replicated and others cannot? A test of mentalizing versus submentalizing accounts. PLoS One, 14. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213772

  • Penn, D. C., & Povinelli, D. J. (2007). On the lack of evidence that non-human animals possess anything remotely resembling a “theory of mind”. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 362, 731–744. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2006.2023

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Premack, D., & Woodruff, G. (1978). Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1, 515–526. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00076512

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Counseling, Hood College, Frederick, MD, USA

    Shannon M. A. Kundey

Authors
  1. Shannon M. A. Kundey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shannon M. A. Kundey .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, ROCHESTER, MN, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Gavin Vance

  3. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester Hills, MI, USA

    Madeleine K. Meehan

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Kundey, S.M.A. (2023). Theory of Mind in Nonhuman Primates. In: Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_322-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_322-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-08956-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-08956-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation