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When humans use the mental states (e.g., beliefs, intentions) and the emotional states of others to predict or explain another person�s behaviour, they have demonstrated their theory of mind understanding. Theory of mind is "one of the quintessential abilities that makes us human" (Baron-Cohen, 2000, p. 3). Emotion understanding has been considered by some to be an aspect of theory of mind understanding. There are several theories proposed to explain the development of theory of mind, from changes in representational abilities (Perner, 1991), to having an innate domain specific module (Fodor, 1992; Leslie, 1994), to social linguistic influences (Nelson et al., 2003). One facet of theory of mind understanding, understanding false belief, has been consistently found to develop at around 3 or 4 years of age (e.g., Wimmer & Perner, 1983). Another cognitive ability that develops at the approximately the same time is that of autobiographical memory. Autobiographical memory has been defined as "memory for information and events pertaining to the self" (Howe & Courage, 1993, p. 306). There are also several theories explaining the onset of autobiographical memory. Two similar theories by Perner (1991) and Welch-Ross (1995) proposed that until a child possesses dual representational abilities (or theory of mind), they cannot form autobiographical memories. Nelson (1993) and Fivush (2001) have both proposed that autobiographical memory is developed through shared narratives with more experienced others (e.g., parents). There are several factors that have been found to contribute to theory of mind, emotion understanding, and autobiographical memory. Language abilities have been related to all three cognitive abilities (e.g., Slade & Ruffman, 2005; Dunn & Cutting, 1999; Harley & Reese, 1999). Factors such as maternal talk, gender of the child, and the number of siblings the child has, have all been related to at least two of these abilities. In the current study, I addressed the relation between theory of mind understanding, emotion understanding, and autobiographical memory in three studies. The first study investigated the relations between language, theory of mind, emotion understanding, and mother-child talk about past events in 61 children at three 6- month intervals from 42- to 54- months of age. The second study also investigated these factors and the children�s pretense in 59 children at 48- months of age. In the second study, the mother�s theory of mind and emotion understanding were also measured. In the third study, I investigated the relations between theory of mind, emotion understanding and early memory recall in 73 adults, with an average age of 20 years. One key finding was that, despite theoretical predictions, there was no clear relation between theory of mind understanding and autobiographical memory in either children or adults. Results showed that theory of mind and emotion understanding are related but distinct abilities. The number of siblings, or the gender of the participants were not strongly related to theory of mind, autobiographical memory, or emotion understanding. Language abilities and maternal talk were the strongest factors related to the development of theory of mind, autobiographical memory and emotion understanding.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Marshall University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains: v , p. 40. Includes bibliographical references: p. 27-31.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Reduced autobiographical memory specificity is considered to be a vulnerability factor for depression and is a significant predictor of the course of depression. Previous studies have shown that different natures of rumination (abstract versus concrete) have different effects on autobiographical memory specificity. Knowing more about the relationship among depression, rumination, and autobiographical memory specificity is important for understanding the cognitive biases in depression. This study explored whether rumination of different valences had different effects on autobiographical memory specificity in participants with major depressive disorder. A 2 (group: MDD, control) x 2 (rumination: positive, negative) x 2 (time: pre, post) mixed design was used. Fifty-two currently depressed people and 52 nonpsychiatric controls completed this experiment. They did the Autobiographical Memory Test and the mood ratings before and after either the positive or the negative rumination task. In the rumination task, they were requested to focus their attention on some specific thoughts about themselves. Results showed a significant group (depressed, control) x time (pre, post) interaction effect for the number of specific memories. This was a result of a significant decrease in specific memories retrieved after negative rumination in the depressed group, but not after positive rumination. No significant result was found among the nonpsychiatric controls. These findings seem to be related to the inhibitory deficit of depressed people in keeping task-irrelevant negative materials from the working memory. Therefore, the working memory capacity is lowered and fewer specific memories are retrieved. / published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Psychology

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As a result of globalisation the cultural, political, economical and technological environments people live in today are becoming increasingly integrated and interdependent. It is common knowledge that the problems we face in these environments are almost always interdisciplinary, yet building interdisciplinary frameworks is still a niche in scientific research. This thesis addresses the problem of how to incorporate in an experimental interdisciplinary framework, diverse concepts from several independent scientific areas. This work is specifically about implementing results emerging from naturalistic studies, such as autobiographical memory, in the context of information and communication technologies within an interdisciplinary framework.

When humans use the mental states (e.g., beliefs, intentions) and the emotional states of others to predict or explain another person�s behaviour, they have demonstrated their theory of mind understanding. Theory of mind is "one of the quintessential abilities that makes us human" (Baron-Cohen, 2000, p. 3). Emotion understanding has been considered by some to be an aspect of theory of mind understanding. There are several theories proposed to explain the development of theory of mind, from changes in representational abilities (Perner, 1991), to having an innate domain specific module (Fodor, 1992; Leslie, 1994), to social linguistic influences (Nelson et al., 2003). One facet of theory of mind understanding, understanding false belief, has been consistently found to develop at around 3 or 4 years of age (e.g., Wimmer & Perner, 1983). Another cognitive ability that develops at the approximately the same time is that of autobiographical memory. Autobiographical memory has been defined as "memory for information and events pertaining to the self" (Howe & Courage, 1993, p. 306). There are also several theories explaining the onset of autobiographical memory. Two similar theories by Perner (1991) and Welch-Ross (1995) proposed that until a child possesses dual representational abilities (or theory of mind), they cannot form autobiographical memories. Nelson (1993) and Fivush (2001) have both proposed that autobiographical memory is developed through shared narratives with more experienced others (e.g., parents). There are several factors that have been found to contribute to theory of mind, emotion understanding, and autobiographical memory. Language abilities have been related to all three cognitive abilities (e.g., Slade & Ruffman, 2005; Dunn & Cutting, 1999; Harley & Reese, 1999). Factors such as maternal talk, gender of the child, and the number of siblings the child has, have all been related to at least two of these abilities. In the current study, I addressed the relation between theory of mind understanding, emotion understanding, and autobiographical memory in three studies. The first study investigated the relations between language, theory of mind, emotion understanding, and mother-child talk about past events in 61 children at three 6- month intervals from 42- to 54- months of age. The second study also investigated these factors and the children�s pretense in 59 children at 48- months of age. In the second study, the mother�s theory of mind and emotion understanding were also measured. In the third study, I investigated the relations between theory of mind, emotion understanding and early memory recall in 73 adults, with an average age of 20 years. One key finding was that, despite theoretical predictions, there was no clear relation between theory of mind understanding and autobiographical memory in either children or adults. Results showed that theory of mind and emotion understanding are related but distinct abilities. The number of siblings, or the gender of the participants were not strongly related to theory of mind, autobiographical memory, or emotion understanding. Language abilities and maternal talk were the strongest factors related to the development of theory of mind, autobiographical memory and emotion understanding.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Duke University, 2007.