Theory of Mind (ToM) has received significant research attention. Traditional ToM research has provided important understanding of how humans reason about mental states by utilizing shared world knowledge, social cues, and the interpretation of actions; however, many current behavioral paradigms are limited to static, “third-person” protocols. Emerging experimental approaches such as cognitive simulation and simulated social interaction offer opportunities to investigate ToM in interactive, “first-person” and “second-person” scenarios while affording greater experimental control. The advantages and limitations of traditional and emerging ToM methodologies are discussed with the intent of advancing the understanding of ToM in socially mediated situations.

Background A requisite skill for successful conversation is the ability to adjust one’s language according to contextual factors. Aims This study examined one aspect of language use in context – the use of mental state terms, i.e. words that communicate thoughts, beliefs, or feelings– in conversations between adult males with and without traumatic brain injury (TBI) and familiar partners. Methods and Procedures Participants were 5 males in the chronic stage of recovery following severe TBI and 5 male peers matched for age, conversing with friends. Conversational context was manipulated using conversation starters that were designed to induce differing levels of self-disclosure or intimacy, with the expectation that mental state term use would increase when participants talked about more intimate topics. Outcomes and Results Participants in both groups used more mental state terms in more intimate conversations, however adults with TBI did not increase their mental state term use to the same extent as matched peers. Adults with TBI also used a significantly different pattern of mental state term types across intimacy levels as compared to peers. Conclusions and Implications These quantitative and qualitative differences may contribute to social conversation problems of adults with TBI.

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Background Social communication problems are common in adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI), particularly problems in spoken discourse. Social communication problems are thought to reflect underlying cognitive impairments. Aims To measure the contribution of two cognitive processes, executive functioning (EF) and theory of mind (ToM), to the communication of adults with TBI, and to investigate the relationships between discourse performance and potential communication partners’ perceptions. Methods & Procedures Twenty-one adults with moderate-to-severe TBI and 23 uninjured adults completed a discourse task in which EF and ToM demands were manipulated across three conditions: baseline, High-EF, and High-ToM. Dependent variables were fluency (for EFs), number of mental state terms (MSTs, for ToM), and speech rate. Discourse from High-EF/ToM conditions was judged by naïve raters for social acceptability. Outcomes & Results The TBI group produced significantly fewer MSTs than the comparison group across conditions and also spoke at a slower rate, and there were significant effects of condition on both measures (MST: High EF < baseline = High-ToM; Speech rate: High-EF < High-ToM < baseline). There were no significant between-groups differences in fluency or interaction of fluency with condition. MST use and fluency were associated with social acceptability ratings. Conclusions & Implications Results added further evidence of social communication problems in adults with TBI and demonstrated that discourse behaviors may negatively affect how a speaker is perceived. Results also indicated that task manipulations can affect discourse performance, suggesting that general cognitive demands may influence social communication after TBI.