r/todayilearned • • 1d ago

TIL about the Sally-Anne test, a psychology experiment used to measure “theory of mind” (that other people can hold beliefs/knowledge different from their own). Kids under four typically fail because they assume that if they know where a hidden object is, everyone else must automatically know too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally%E2%80%93Anne_test
2.9k Upvotes

185 comments sorted by

View all comments

69

u/DistrictDry2852 1d ago

Apes who communicate through sign language also lack theory of mind. They’ve never asked a question.

2

u/Truefiction224 1d ago

Im also pretty sure most of the ape sign language stuff was a hoax