What’s on the Theory of Mind poster
A definition and 6 facts worth remembering.
The ability to attribute mental states — beliefs, desires, intentions — to oneself and others, and to understand that others' beliefs may differ from reality and from one's own.
- Sally-Anne task: where will Sally look for her marble?
- Typically passed at around four years old.
- Younger children answer where the marble actually is.
- Precursors appear earlier: joint attention, pretend play.
- Delayed in autism, though the picture is more complex than early accounts suggested.
- Related to language development.
- Passed at — ~4 years
- Test — false belief
- Precursor — joint attention
- A three-year-old says Sally will look in the new location, because they cannot separa…
Non-verbal looking-time measures suggest some false-belief understanding much earlier, which is an active debate.
Questions about the Theory of Mind poster
- What’s on the Theory of Mind poster?
- A definition and 6 facts worth remembering. The ability to attribute mental states — beliefs, desires, intentions — to oneself and others, and to understand that others' beliefs may differ from reality and from one's own. Sally-Anne task: where will Sally look for her marble?; Typically passed at around four years old.; Younger children answer where the marble actually is.; Precursors appear earlier: joint attention, pretend play.; Delayed in autism, though the picture is more complex than early accounts suggested.; Related to language development.; Passed at — ~4 years; Test — false belief; Precursor — joint attention; A three-year-old says Sally will look in the new location, because they cannot separa…. Non-verbal looking-time measures suggest some false-belief understanding much earlier, which is an active debate.
- Who is the Theory of Mind poster for?
- Theory of Mind belongs to the Psychology section rather than to a school year, because life science is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning developmental can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the Theory of Mind poster?
- The false-belief task is the standard test, and it is usually passed around age four. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Theory of Mind belongs on the wall where that life science work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Theory of Mind?
- Adolescence, Cognitive Ageing and Attachment sit alongside Theory of Mind in the Psychology section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.AdolescenceCognitive AgeingAttachment
- Is the Theory of Mind poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Theory of Mind downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Psychology section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Theory of Mind poster print at?
- Theory of Mind is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Theory of Mind loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside Theory of Mind on the same wall.
Browse every Psychology poster, or start from the full catalogue.