Theory of Mind is an exciting area of contemporary developmental psychology that concerns the child's developing understanding of other people as thinking beings - individuals with different perceptions, emotions and reasoning.



Peter Mitchell's highly readable and non-technical 'Introduction to Theory of Mind' focuses on the latest exciting research in the field and integrates work carried out on adults, apes and children with autism. The author shows how children develop (or fail to develop) an understanding of the minds of others during infancy and beyond. On one hand, there are circumstances in which toddlers show a surprising insight into the minds of those around them. On the other hand, even the average adult does not always reason effectively about other peoples minds. Unfortunately, the development of an understanding of mind can run into serious difficulties, and one form of such abnormal development can be autism. The background to this socially crippling syndrome is introduced for the benefit of the non-specialist and then examined in some depth.

Andreas Wichert studied computer science at the University of Saarland, where he graduated in 1993. He studied philosophy and computer science at the University Ulm. In 1999, he earned his bachelor's in philosophy and in 2000 his PhD in computer science. Since 2006, he has been an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Lisbon. He lectures on machine learning and quantum computation. His research focuses on neuronal networks, cognitive systems, and quantum computation. He has published four books and over 100 scientific articles. In addition to science and philosophy, he is a passionate artist with several exhibitions in Germany, Poland, and Portugal.