Theory of mind in typical and atypical developmental settings: Some considerations from a contextual perspective

This chapter is a combined effort, and it is distinct in two ways. On the one hand, it proposes the most recent theoretical perspectives on Theory of Mind development within a contextual view. On the other hand, the following pages discuss the work of those people who, over the last fifteen years, have collaborated with Olga Liverta Sempio, to whom this book is dedicated. Without her valuable, thoughtful work and her continuous intellectual input, the Theory of Mind Research Unit (directed by Olga Liverta Sempio and Antonella Marchetti) would not have been set up within the Department of Psychology at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan. Each section of the chapter is by those researchers who contributed significantly to investigation of the topic, for the most part with Olga Liverta Sempio and Antonella Marchetti. Flavia Lecciso The parent-child relationship is the first socially affective experience, and it may be considered a template of what children can expect from others and how they can meet other people’s expectations. In terms of this perspective, the primary relationship may be studied not only as the environment in which a child can or cannot learn about mental states, but also as the context that determines the degree to which the social environment can be analyzed and processed.