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Theory of mind and the “somatic marker mechanism” (SMM)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2002

Bruce G. Charlton
Bruce G. Charlton
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, United Kingdombruce.g.charlton@ncl.ac.uk www.hedweb.com/bgcharlton/
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Abstract

The “somatic marker mechanism” (SMM; Damasio 1994) is proposed as the cognitive and neural basis of the theory of mind mechanism. The SMM evolved for evaluating the intentions, dispositions, and relationships of conspecifics; hence, it is adaptive in the social domain. It is predicted that chimpanzees will indeed have theory of mind (ToM) ability, but that this will be socially domain-specific. Domain-general ToM will be found only in primates with abstract, symbolic language (adult humans). Putative ToM tests require revision in the light of these distinctions.

Type
Continuing Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 24 , Issue 6 , December 2001 , pp. 1141 - 1142
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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