Flexible goal attribution in early mindreading

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Philosophy of Mind

Background:

• The 2-systems theory explains infant success on implicit false-belief tasks.
• It posits a minimal mindreading system without flexible cognitive processes.
• Goal attribution within this theory has received limited attention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically evaluate the characterization of goal attribution in the 2-systems theory.
• To investigate the cognitive processes underlying infant goal attribution.
• To assess the theory's adequacy in light of empirical findings.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the 2-systems theory's assumptions regarding goal attribution.
• Review of empirical research on infant goal attribution and situational awareness.
• Examination of the cognitive demands of implicit mindreading tasks.

Main Results:

• Infant goal attribution suggests flexible semantic-executive processing.
• Infants show sensitivity to interrelations between goals, beliefs, and preferences.
• Implicit mindreading tasks require flexible goal attribution for success.

Conclusions:

• The 2-systems theory's account of goal attribution is inadequate.
• Infant cognitive abilities exceed the theory's minimal assumptions.
• Modifications are needed to reconcile the theory with empirical evidence on goal attribution.