Do college students use theory of mind in a preference-based game?

Evidence from theory of mind, the ability to represent distinctions between one’s own thoughts and the thoughts of others, has practical uses beyond childhood. For instance, successful cooperative problem-solving depends on the ability to assess what a partner may know, believe, or prefer. We designed this study to extend understanding of how young adults might implicitly employ theory of mind skills during cognitive interactions with others. We asked college students to play a game with a pre-recorded, scripted player that appeared on screen. They reasoned about about the player’s preferences and thinking during the game. Results suggest that young adults improved in their thinking about the other player over time and when more information is provided. Second-order theory of mind skills were weakly associated with this improvement in understanding another’s preferences. Overall, this study demonstrates that even when one has well-developed theory of mind skills, the application of such skills may not be evident until the end of an iterative preference attribution task.