Theory of Mind Test

The five stages of theory of mind are development of diverse desires, diverse beliefs, knowledge access, false beliefs, and hidden emotions.

One of the most famous assessments is the false belief test, a classic task where a child must predict someone’s action based on that person’s mistaken belief, even if the child knows the truth.

The TOM Test, developed by Muris et al. in 1999, is a structured, multi-item measure assessing children’s ability to interpret emotions, beliefs, and intentions using pictures, stories, and role-play to track their theory of mind development.