Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M12219

Mind Reading

Mind Reading
BehaviorHigh supportSocial Psychology
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Updated 2026-08-17

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

Mind reading, also called mentalizing or theory of mind, is the capacity to attribute beliefs, intentions, and emotions to other people and to predict their behaviour on that basis. Premack and Woodruff introduced the term in 1978 in a study asking whether chimpanzees have a theory of mind. The capacity draws on facial expression, prosody, situation, and prior knowledge about the person, and it is distinct from extrasensory perception. Cognitive behavioural therapy uses the same label for a thinking trap: concluding what others think of you without evidence.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Intention mapping: list three actions the other side could take, then ask which fits their interests - Calibrated check: turn your inference into a falsifiable sentence and verify it with an open question - Self-audit: when you sense others judging you, ask what direct evidence exists

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Human beings run a model of other minds because behaviour alone is ambiguous: the same act can come from fear, duty, or strategy. The model works by simulating the other person's goals and constraints, which narrows the space of likely intentions. It is calibrated by feedback, namely open questions and observed consequences, so accuracy depends on how much verified feedback the reader actually collects.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BF%83%E7%81%B5%E6%84%9F%E5%BA%94ZH · Explicit
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