心理理论(ToM)是社交能力和沟通的基本能力,理解不同于我们自己的行为是必要的(Premack&Woodruff,1978).最近的研究表明,旨在测量ToM的任务不能充分捕获单一的ToM能力(Warnell&Redcay,2019;Quesque&Rossetti,2020)和,相反,可能与一般认知能力的任务有关(科伊尔,Elpers,冈萨雷斯,弗里曼,&Baggio,2018)。这阻碍了对实验结果的解释,并质疑ToM结构的有效性。当前的研究是迄今为止对ToM结构的首次心理测量评估。将ToM与结晶智能(Gc)和流体智能(Gf)进行比较,该研究旨在(a)了解ToM是否应被视为整体能力,以及(b)探讨ToM的任务是否充分评估ToM,超越一般认知能力。为此,验证性因子分析(CFA),探索性因子分析(EFA)并进行了探索性网络分析(NMA)。模型的结果在很大程度上指向相同的结论:虽然ToM任务不仅仅是评估认知能力,他们也不是纯粹评估一个单一的ToM结构。重要的是,这些发现与最近的理论观点一致,认为ToM不应该被认为是一个整体结构(Quesque&Rossetti,2020年;Schaafsma,普法夫,替身,&Adolphs,2015年,Devaine,Hollard,&Daunizeau,2014),而应该作为多个领域进行探索和测量。
Theory of mind (ToM) is an essential ability for social competence and communication, and it is necessary for understanding behaviors that differ from our own (Premack & Woodruff, 1978). Recent research suggests that tasks designed to measure ToM do not adequately capture a single ToM ability (Warnell & Redcay, 2019; Quesque & Rossetti, 2020) and, instead, might be related to tasks of general cognitive ability (Coyle, Elpers, Gonzalez, Freeman, & Baggio, 2018). This hinders the interpretation of experimental findings and puts into question the validity of the ToM construct. The current study is the first psychometric assessment of the structure of ToM to date. Comparing ToM to crystallized intelligence (Gc) and fluid intelligence (Gf), the study aims to (a) understand whether ToM should be considered a monolithic ability and (b) explore whether tasks of ToM adequately assess ToM, above and beyond general cognitive ability. For this, confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and exploratory network analysis (NMA) were conducted. The results of the models largely point to the same conclusion: while ToM tasks are not merely assessing cognitive ability, they are not purely assessing a single ToM construct either. Importantly, these findings align with recent theoretical accounts proposing that ToM should not be considered a monolithic construct (Quesque & Rossetti, 2020; Schaafsma, Pfaff, Spunt, & Adolphs, 2015, Devaine, Hollard, & Daunizeau, 2014), and should instead be explored and measured as multiple domains.