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Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind?
Open accessAbstract
An individual has a theory of mind if he imputes mental states to himself and others. A system of inferences of this kind is properly viewed as a theory because such states are not directly observable, and the system can be used to make predictions about the behavior of others. As to the mental states the chimpanzee may infer, consider those inferred by our own species, for example, purpose or intention , as well as knowledge, belief, thinking, doubt, guessing, pretending, liking , and so forth. To determine whether or not the chimpanzee infers states of this kind, we showed an adult chimpanzee a series of videotaped scenes of a human actor struggling with a variety of problems. Some problems were simple, involving inaccessible food – bananas vertically or horizontally out of reach, behind a box, and so forth – as in the original Kohler problems; others were more complex, involving an actor unable to extricate himself from a locked cage, shivering because of a malfunctioning heater, or unable to play a phonograph because it was unplugged. With each videotape the chimpanzee was given several photographs, one a solution to the problem, such as a stick for the inaccessible bananas, a key for the locked up actor, a lit wick for the malfunctioning heater. The chimpanzee's consistent choice of the correct photographs can be understood by assuming that the animal recognized the videotape as representing a problem, understood the actor's purpose, and chose alternatives compatible with that purpose.
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“Theory of Mind (ToM) is regarded as a key marker of human consciousness and social cognition (Premack and Woodruff, 1978; Baron-Cohen, 1997; Saxe and Kanwisher, 2003; Frith and Frith, 2006; Carruthers, 2009).”
From Can "consciousness" be observed from large language model (LLM) internal states? Dissecting LLM representations obtained from Theory of Mind test with Integrated Information Theory and Span Representation analysis (2025) · cites this paper as Premack and Woodruff, 1978
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“The article sparked a flurry of comparative research that has led to real progress.”
From The evolution of foresight: What is mental time travel, and is it unique to humans? (2007) · cites this paper as Premack and Woodruff's (1978)
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Citations
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Research works printed but not linked: 1
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“Theory of Mind (ToM) is regarded as a key marker of human consciousness and social cognition (Premack and Woodruff, 1978; Baron-Cohen, 1997; Saxe and Kanwisher, 2003; Frith and Frith, 2006; Carruthers, 2009).”
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“Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to the ability to understand and reason the mental states, such as intentions and beliefs, of others and distinguish them from one’s own (Premack & Woodruff, 1978).”
Metadata
- Authors
- Premack, D., & Woodruff, G.
- Affiliations
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Venue
- Behavioral and Brain Sciences
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 1978-12
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 515-526
- ISSN
- 0140-525X (ISSN-L)
- 1469-1825
- OpenAlex
- W2141538250
- Semantic Scholar
- 7a2072d69e2538de875434ba3cb0b74f467a99fb
- Cited by
- 8,743
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 343 · 2025: 438 · 2024: 395 · 2023: 437 · 2022: 466 · 2021: 549 · 2020: 438 · 2019: 410 · 2018: 460 · 2017: 377 · 2016: 341 · 2015: 389 · 2014: 375 · 2013: 353 · 2012: 312
- FWCI
- 23.78
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Behavioral and Brain Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (7519748, 7716853)
- National Institutes of Health
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Social Robot Interaction and HRI
- Keywords
- theory of mind, chimpanzees, mental state attribution, intention inference, problem solving, animal cognition, social cognition
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