Theory of mind

As someone who practices behavioral analysis on a daily basses it is difficult to accept the idea of the theory of mind. Because thought processes are completely hypothetical and can not be measured this has to remain a theory. On the plus side of it, it can be demonstrated when talking to children and using situations like the one in the video (the ball in the basket/box) as an example to measure there responses to the hypothetical situation. This is an important skill to acquire, and many individuals with ASD do not fully acquire it. There are some tasks that I do in my own classroom that rely on trying to teach this relationship to others. Such task as describing a emotion seen on a card, saying the emotion, then demonstrating what the students face would look like if he was feeling this same emotion. When dealing with such constructs as emotions and thoughts, it can be difficult to demonstrate it to others who do not understand or relate such as some individuals with ASD. This ability of being able to understand others emotional state also effects individuals with ASD socially as well. Many individuals with ASD already struggle with social situations and subtle social cues and this puts them even more at a disadvantage. Viewing a movie, TV show, or story can be challenging to these individuals who can, most times, not relate to the characters emotional state or are not able to obtain the characters perspective. Since it can not be measured this theory, although can be demonstrated but not accurately measured, will remain just a theory until further understanding can be achieved.