Mind Reading Summary

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The primary directive of Daniel Perez-Zapata and Virginia Slaughter’s article is to examine the implications of culture on the process of developing mind reading. The article summarizes different studies pertaining to the development of mind reading within various cultural contexts. The authors begin by defining mind reading or the theory of the mind as the capacity to monitor one’s or other individuals’ mental status. For instance, a person can have a general perspective of what his or her friend is feeling or thinking based on intuition. According to Slaughter and Zapata (2014), mind reading is viewed as a universal aspect amongst human beings. However, it varies depending on every group’s underlying mechanics and models of mind reading. …show more content…
Different theories and studies have taken each side of the argument and sought to prove which stance is valid. Slaughter and Zapata (2014) are inclined to proving that culture does indeed influence mind reading. The analysis validates the sociocultural perspective of cognitive development which asserts that everyday interactions are essential for human development. The primary elements that influence human behavior in the sociocultural environment include nationality, gender, age, race, amongst others (Siegler, 2014). The sociocultural perspective is vivid in Slaughter and Zapata’ article in that they evaluate mind reading across various nationalities. They refer to studies conducted amongst children from different countries and regions in the world such as Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. By doing so, the authors validate mind reading as a human activity influenced by context within which the research is based. More so, mind reading successfully portrays the influence of sociocultural elements on human behavior. The authors argue that despite mind reading being a universal ability amongst human beings, culture determines the extent and rate of development. In some cultures where internal states or discourses are not emphasized, individuals may take longer to generate mind reading abilities. Additionally, the assessment proves that mind reading emerges during …show more content…
Developmental psychology allows the continuous analysis of behavioral and development changes in human beings during their lifespan (Siegler, 2014). The authors bring out the concept of developmental psychology by examining studies that use children from ages 3 to 7 years. The aim of exploring the age differences is to prove that mind reading becomes better with age. As the kids get older, they continue to develop beliefs and values which they can use as gut feelings or intuition during their adult life. The differential development of mind reading affects the meaning of signs, genetic or heritable disorders, the dedication of cortical areas, and the behaviors of persons. The developmental and cultural influences also determine the education system, language patterns, individualism vs. collectivism, and other social dimensions. The theory of the mind is not only vital in understanding children, but also in examining life patterns such as how we relate to ourselves and each

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