166 Self and the Phenomenon of Life
b2726 Self and the Phenomenon of Life: A Biologist Examines Life from Molecules to Humanity “9x6”has a ball, which she places in her bowl. After she leaves, Anne (the girl
in black, on the right) surreptitiously moves it to her box. When Sally
returns, where will she look for the ball? Children below four years of
age answer that Sally will look for it in Anne’s box, since this is where
the ball is; but older children answer that Sally will look for it in her own
bowl, because she mistakenly believes that the ball is still there. The abil-
ity of a test subject to dwell in other people’s mental states incurs think-
ing about mind, or thinking about thinking. When applied to one’s own
self, it is recursive or reflective thinking, in other words, introspection.
Fig. 8.1. “Theory-of-mind” test as illustrated by the Sally-Anne situation (see text for
detail). Children beyond 6 years of age pass this test, as they believe that Sally will look
for the ball in the bowl, since this is where she put it. The test subjects recognize other
people’s mind or mental reality. [See Note 9.]