Browsing by Subject "mielen teoria"
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(2016)Objectives. Theory of mind is the ability to assign mental states (e.g. beliefs, intentions and desires) to oneself and others as well as to recognise that others have mental states that differ from one's own. Theory of mind helps individuals understand others' minds and interpret and predict their behaviour in relation to their mental states. Thus, it is one of the most important skills for children's social development. Normally developing children are usually able to make inferences about the mental states of other people by 5 years of age. Theory of mind development is associated with e.g. verbal ability, gender, culture and family background. Recent studies indicate that temperament may also have an influence on children's theory of mind. Specifically, a less reactive, more observant temperament seems to enhance theory of mind development. Poor theory of mind may lead to various difficulties in social relationships. Thus, it is important to investigate relations between temperament and theory of mind. The aim of this study was to examine if children's temperament at 9 months and 3 years predicts theory of mind at 5 years of age. Gender differences in the relationship between temperament and theory of mind were also investigated. Method. This study used a sample from the prospective British Millennium Cohort Study. Child temperament was assessed by parental reports at 9 months and 3 years of age. Theory of mind was assessed with a false belief task at 5 years of age. The relations between child temperament and theory of mind were examined using logistic regression (n=8041). Results and conclusions. Child temperament at age 9 months did not predict theory of mind at age 5. However, low hyperactivity and inattention, high independence and self regulation, and high prosocial behaviour at age 3 predicted theory of mind at age 5 after controlling for gender, ethnicity, vocabulary and maternal education. There were no significant gender differences in the relations between temperament and theory of mind. In accord with previous studies, these findings suggest a relation between individual differences in temperament and theory of mind development. Future research is needed to clarify relations between temperament and theory of mind during infancy and early childhood.
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(2020)Objectives. Eating disorder (ED) symptoms are quite common in youth, especially among girls. EDs are life-threatening illnesses, but also separate and subclinical ED symptoms are associated with psychological distress, and they present a risk for developing more severe symptoms. EDs are known to be associated with social impairment and problems in social competence. Research is scarcer regarding ED symptoms in the general population and its associations with different aspects of social competence. Longitudinal studies and data concerning boys are especially needed. This prospective study examines whether childhood social competence is associated with ED symptoms in adolescence among girls or boys in the general population. Social competence is understood as a hypernym, and social skills, aggressiveness, social anxiety and social cognition are examined as its aspects. The prospective nature of the study creates a possibility to identify associations between social competence in middle childhood and ED symptoms later in adolescence. Methods. The data was from the Finnish cohort study Glycyrrhizin in Licorice (GLAKU). The final sample included 193 participants, of which 115 were girls (59.6%). The children’s social skills and their tendency towards social anxiety and aggressiveness at 8 years of age were evaluated with the Social Competence and Behavioral Evaluation (SCBE-30) inventory by their mothers. Sociocognitive skills were evaluated with the theory of mind subtests of the NEPSY-II test battery at 12 years of age. At 17 years of age, the participants evaluated their ED symptoms with the Eating Disorder Inventory 2 (EDI-2). The scales used were bulimia, drive for thinness and body dissatisfaction. Associations between the social competence variables and ED symptoms were examined with linear regression analysis separately for girls and boys. Results and conclusions. Lower scores in the theory of mind verbal task predicted an increase in drive for thinness and body dissatisfaction for girls and an increase in bulimia subscale for boys. Concerning the mechanism between ED symptoms and problems in social cognition, it has been suggested that impairments in theory of mind might lead to misunderstandings of others’ verbal and nonverbal expressions, and thus in worse experiences in relationships. These problems might then in turn lead to adopting ED symptoms as maladaptive coping strategies. Even though the effect found in this study was weak, it should not be ignored; even mild sosiocognitive deficits may be a risk factor for ED development, and the deficits might exacerbate as a consequence of EDs. Strengthening theory of mind skills could work as a preventative measure for development or exacerbation of ED symptoms.
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(2016)Background: Theory of mind (ToM) refers to the ability to perceive and interpret the mental states of self and others, such as desires, intentions and beliefs. ToM problems have been observed both in people suffering from chronic schizophrenia and in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) as well as at-risk populations. Therefore it has been thought that ToM deficits could predict the beginning of psychotic illnesses. Object: This study was the first to examine the ToM measure Hinting task in a Finnish population. The study compared the performance of FEP patients (n=42) and controls (n=38) on the task. The aims of the study were to explore group differences in Hinting task performance when controlling for neurocognitive factors as well as investigate the potential impacts of symptom severity on task performance. Data: The data is a part of an on-going project of the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), the Technical Research Center of Finland (VTT Oy), the University of Helsinki and Aalto University. For this study participants who had completed the Hinting task before September 2014 were selected. Results: As hypothesized, FEP patients performed significantly worse than controls on the ToM measure. Patients who met the DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia performed weaker than other patients. There was also a significant group difference on the Hinting task between patients operating better and worse on the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale. The performance of the best operating patient quarter did not differ from the control group. The linear regression analyses revealed that the general neurocognitive deficit associated with FEP - especially problems in episodic memory and executive function - explained most (64 %) of the variance between the control and patient groups on the Hinting task. Within the patient group, neurocognition only covered 26 % of the variance between the two groups differing in overall functioning (GAF). Conclusions: These results support the growing evidence that ToM deficits can be seen in the early phases of the psychotic illness. The means and standard deviations of the patient and control groups on the Hinting task in the current study are consistent with previous findings. However, this study showed great differences in Hinting task performance between both groups and individuals. The findings of this study do not give an unambiguous answer to whether ToM problems are secondary to the neurocognitive deficits observed in FEP and symptom severity in the acute phases of the illness or whether ToM deficits can be seen as a more general and independent feature of the illness.
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(2019)Pro gradu -tutkielmassani tutkin mielen ja muistin representaatioita J.K. Rowlingin Harry Potter -romaaneissa (1997–2007). Romaanimaailmassa on runsaasti erilaisia mielen representaatioita. Nostan tutkielmassani esille näistä keskeisimmät. Lisäksi tarkastelen yhtäläisyyksiä ja eroja eri representaatioiden välillä. Tutkin kaikkia J.K. Rowlingin kirjoittamia Harry Potter -romaaneja. En käsittele muita teoksia, jotka liittyvät romaanien fantasiamaailmaan. Hyödynnän tutkielmassani esimerkiksi kognitiivista kirjallisuudentutkimusta ja mielen teoriaa. Lähtökohtana mielen määrittelemisellä käytän esimerkiksi kirjallisuudentutkija Alan Palmerin ja neurologi Antonio Damasion käsityksiä. Niissä korostuu mielen ruumiillisuus, joka on tutkielmani lähtöoletus mielestä. Harry Potter -romaanit ovat fantasiakirjallisuutta, mikä mahdollistaa mielen esittämisen erilaisena kuin reaalimaailmassa. Nostan tutkielmassani esille erilaisia näkökulmia mieleen ja tarkastelen niitä sekä suhteessa toisiinsa että reaalimaailmaan. Kirjallisuudentutkija Jan Alberin mukaan fiktiivinen maailma (ja näin ollen myös fantasia) kertoo pohjimmiltaan reaalimaailmasta. Tutkielmani jakautuu neljään osaan. Käsittelen muistojen tallentamista ja esittämistä, mielen lukemista ja tulkitsemista, mieleen vaikuttamista sekä mielten yhteen kietoutumista. Nostan tutkielmassani esille myös mielen representaatioiden eettisyyden ongelman. Osoitan tutkielmassani, että tietyt asiat toistuvat erilaisissa representaatioissa. Mieli ja ruumis yhdistyvät sekä toisiinsa että tunteisiin. Mieli ja tunteet nähdään fyysisinä. Tunteista etenkin rakkaus ja sen merkitys korostuu läpi romaanisarjan. Lisäksi useissa representaatioissa toistuu manipulaatio. Myös esineellisyys korostuu romaanisarjassa. Tutkielmani osoittaa, että vaikka käsitys mielestä on romaanimaailmassa monella tapaa monitasoisempi kuin reaalimaailmassa, se on osittain myös yksinkertaisempi.
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(2018)Former studies have shown that reading fiction has an impact on the development of different kinds of skills regarding our minds. Skills like empathy or making conclusions based on something we read can nowadays be included in the concept of literacy, along with knowledge of literary elements and the mechanical ability to read. International literacy tests also scrutinize the mental skills connected to reading. However, their ability to measure these skills are restricted by their narrowly phrased questions and short texts. The purpose of this study is to look into the mental skills connected to reading fiction from a child-focused viewpoint. The study examines the topic through the concept of aesthetic knowledge referring to knowledge gained through an aesthetic activity such as reading fiction. The aim of this study is to portray the kinds of aesthetic knowledge that reading fantasy literature evokes in child readers, and to is to describe how the aesthetic knowledge appears. The data of this study consists of video messages filmed by five 5th and 6th graders while reading a fantasy novel of their choice during January-March 2017. The transcribed data was analysed using content analysis and by mirroring the data to Maria Nikolajeva's (2014) theory of the aesthetic knowledge of child readers. The aesthetic knowledge of these children had three categories: 1) knowledge of others, 2) knowledge of the real world, the world of literature and the relationship between these two, and 3) knowledge of themselves. Aesthetic knowledge appeared when the children discussed their understandings and conclusions, as well as their uncertainties and initial impressions that were changed by new information. The versatility of these results brings up the need and interest to further investigate the connection between children's mental skills and reading fiction.
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(2018)Tarkastelen tutkielmassani psykologisen rikoskirjallisuuden kognitiivista arvoa. Työssäni keskityn ensisijaisesti niihin tapoihin, joilla psykologisten rikoskertomusten lukeminen voi kehittää lukijan sosiaalista kognitiota. Lähestyn rikoskirjallisuutta rikos-teeman ympärille rakentuvien kertomusten lajityyppiristeytymänä eli genrehybridinä ja psykologista rikoskirjallisuutta yhtenä sen alalajeista. Psykologiseksi rikoskirjallisuudeksi luokittelen ne rikoskertomukset, jotka käsittelevät rikosten psykologisia syitä ja seuraamuksia, ts. rikoksen suhdetta ihmismieleen. Tutkielman tavoite on osoittaa psykologisen rikoskirjallisuuden kognitiivisen arvon perustuvan suurelta osin genrelle tyypilliseen mielenrakentamiseen (mind-building). Tutkielmani lähtökohtana on, että kaunokirjallisuus voi kerronnan keinoin tarjota lukijalle ns. taito-tietoa (knowledge-how) ja kokemuksellista tietoa (experiential knowledge), joiden piiriin sosiaalinen kognitio kuuluu. Tarkastelen psykologisen rikoskirjallisuuden kognitiivista arvoa paitsi lukijan olemassa olevaa tietoa vahvistavana myös uutta tietoa esittelevänä genrenä. Tarkastellakseni näitä funktioita rakennan teoreettisen viitekehyksen, joka perustuu Lisa Zunshinen ajatuksiin mielen teorian suhteesta kirjalliseen fiktioon, Brian McHalen malleihin ja ajatuskokeisiin perustuvaan lähestymistapaan sekä Alan Palmerin näkemyksiin fiktiivisten mielten tutkimuksesta. Tutkielmassani esitän, että psykologisen rikoskirjallisuuden kyky esitellä lukijalle uutta tietoa perustuu genrelle tyypillisiin, epätavallisiin fiktiivisiin mieliin (ab-normal fictional minds): siinä missä suuri osa kaunokirjallisuudesta rakentuu vain olemassa olevien kulttuuristen mallien mukaan toimivien, tuttujen fiktiivisten mielten (familiar fictional minds) varaan, esittelevät psykologiset rikoskertomukset tutkimukseni mukaan lukijan uusille ajattelun malleille. Esitänkin, että psykologiset rikoskertomukset suorittavat mielenrakentamisen ajatuskokeita, jotka lisäävät lukijan ymmärrystä ihmismielen toiminnasta. Tuttujen ja epätavallisten mielten rakentumista kerronnassa havainnollistan kolmen psykologisen rikosromaanin avulla. Kuten tutkielmassani osoitan, John Fowlesin Neitoperho, Ruth Rendellin Kova kuin kivi ja Karin Slaughterin Triptyykki tarjoavat kaikki lukijalle tapoja sekä vahvistaa olemassaolevia kognitiivisia taitojaan että oppia uusia mielen malleja (mind models). Tutkimukseni tuloksena totean, että malleihin ja ajatuskokeisiin perustuva lähestymistapa tuottaa tuloksia myös psykologisen rikoskirjallisuuden kognitiivisen arvon tutkimuksessa, kun sen yhdistää mielen teoriaan ja fiktiivisiin mieliin keskittyviin näkökulmiin. Kaiken kaikkiaan vaikuttaa siltä, että epätavallisten mielten konsepti laajentaa genrekirjallisuuden kognitiivisen arvon tutkimuksen keinoja laajemmaltikin.
Now showing items 1-6 of 6