Development and Validation of a Porous Theory of Mind Scale

Abstract

We report the results of an empirical investigation of the extent to which supernatural believers endorse a porous conception of the mind, i.e., the belief that one’s thoughts can be directly perceived by others. We developed a porous theory of mind (PToM) scale, tested its factor structure by using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and showed its relation with supernatural beliefs in three studies in the Netherlands and one study with North-American participants. We found that endorsement of a PToM is positively related to paranormal beliefs. We also showed that the endorsement of a porous view of the mind differs in meaningful ways between people from different religious backgrounds (i.e., Protestants vs. Catholics; spiritualists vs. religious believers). The finding that supernatural believers endorse a porous conception of the mind fits well with recent work in the field of the anthropology of religion and the psychology of paranormal beliefs. We propose that our PToM scale provides a parsimonious measurement tool (i.e., consisting only of 4 items) that circumvents socially desirable responding, while providing direct insight in the endorsement of paranormal beliefs.

Explaining religion from the inside-out

“…Feeling that God is real will further encourage people's inclination to engage in the mental practices giving rise to that experience. Similarly, whereas culturally prevalent ideas about the mind being a porous entity will likely have downstream consequences for experiences of the supernatural, these experiences in turn will reinforce one's beliefs that spirits can visit the mind (van Elk et al, 2020). There is even evidence that what Luhrmann calls "proclivity," the personality trait of "absorption," can be changed as a function of experience (Polito et al, 2019).…”

Zihin Kuramı: İlkokul Düzeyinde Okuma Becerisini Oluşturan Bilişsel Bileşenleri Değerlendirme

“…The Theory of Mind Scale, which is widely used in this context, was developed by Wellman and Liu (2004). In addition to this scale, it is known that there are other theory of mind scales (PToM; van Elk et al, 2020;RMET;BaronCohen, 2001;ToMas-child;Rivas-Garcia et al, 2020).…”