Theory of Mind (ToM) or Social Cognition

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Theory of Mind (ToM) or Social Cognition is our capacity to understand others by attributing to them thoughts, beliefs, emotions, intentions, and motivations that may differ from our own — and to imagine why they think or behave as they do. Because we cannot directly know another person’s internal experience, these understandings remain educated theories rather than certainties. We build them from observation: what people say, how they act, what is known about their personalities and histories, and what we infer about their intentions. ToM is an essential social-cognitive function involved in perspective-taking, empathy, and everyday relationships. It also appears important in how people interpret conflict, assess trust and safety, assign blame, and decide whether others seem forgivable after harm. Questions such as Did they mean to hurt me? Are they sorry? Have they changed? rely heavily on ToM processes.

In the past, psychiatry often assumed that neurodivergent (ND) people — particularly autistic people — had impaired ToM abilities. This assumption contributed to significant misunderstandings and harmful interpretations of ND communication. Many social-cognition measures were developed from a neurotypical (NT) perspective and may reflect NT expectations more than universal social abilities. It is now increasingly (though not universally) recognized that ND people process and communicate information differently rather than simply deficiently. As often as ND people may misunderstand NT social signals, NT people may also misunderstand ND communication.

Closely connected to mentalizing, ToM focuses more specifically on inferring another person’s mental states and intentions. Also see Double Empathy Problem Theory.