A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General reports that individuals with stronger theory of mind skills leave more positive first impressions.
Building social connections is an important part of human survival, health, and happiness. While social structures like family and community provide a foundation, the expansion of social networks hinges on the ability to connect with new others. Theory of mind, the everyday skill of imputing mental states to others, is a critical cognitive skill facilitating smoother social interactions. This skill is associated with various social outcomes, including larger social networks, higher relationship satisfaction, and greater social competence.
There is substantial research on theory of mind across various disciplines. However, there is little research on its role in forming new social connections. In this work, Chloe C. Hudson and colleagues examined how individual differences in theory of mind accuracy and motivation influence first impressions through observable behaviors during social interactions.
A total of 334 young adult participants were recruited from first- and second-year psychology courses and through advertisements placed around campus. Participants were paired with a peer for a first-time meeting. They completed several measures assessing theory of mind accuracy and motivation.
The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task involved viewing 36 photographs of the eye region of faces, each surrounded by four mental state adjectives (e.g., cautious, insisting, bored, and aghast). Participants were instructed to choose the adjective that best described the photograph as quickly as possible. The Adult False Belief Task included 13 videos with two animated characters interacting with three boxes, where participants had to infer which box a character would choose based on their beliefs. The Mind-Reading Motivation Scale, a 13-item self-report questionnaire, assessed participants’ motivation to understand others’ thoughts and emotions.
The primary interaction task involved a cooperative Lego-building activity, where each pair was instructed to build a Lego model within seven minutes. Participants were told they could only touch two of the four colors of Lego pieces, necessitating cooperation. The interactions were videotaped and later coded for behavioral manifestations of theory of mind by independent raters.
Cognitive sensitivity was measured using an 11-item coding scheme assessing behaviors such as clear verbal directions, positive nonverbal directions, and sensitivity to the partner’s mental states. Pragmatic conversational skills were rated using the Conversational Skills Rating Scale, which evaluated features like speaking rate, vocal variety, volume, and humor.
The researchers found that participants with higher theory of mind accuracy and motivation were rated as more cognitively sensitive by third-party observers. Cognitive sensitivity, in turn, was positively correlated with more favorable first impressions from their interaction partners. Participants who demonstrated higher theory of mind skills exhibited behaviors that reflected clear communication, appropriate humor, and responsiveness to their partners’ needs.
Theory of mind accuracy was significantly associated with paralinguistic features, such as volume and clarity of speech, but not with discourse management, which includes behaviors like topic initiation and use of humor. Conversely, theory of mind motivation was significantly linked to discourse management but not paralinguistic features. These findings highlight the distinct roles of theory of mind accuracy and motivation in shaping different aspects of social interactions.
An important mediating factor was cognitive sensitivity, which was a key predictor of positive first impressions, suggesting that individuals who are better at understanding and responding to their partners’ mental states are more likely to leave a favorable impression. While pragmatic conversational skills were related to theory of mind, they did not significantly predict first impressions, indicating that cognitive sensitivity might be a more crucial factor in initial social encounters.
A limitation outlined by the authors is the homogeneity of the sample, which comprised primarily undergraduate students from a suburban Canadian university, limiting the generalizability of the findings.
The study, “How Theory of Mind Leads to Positive First Impressions,” was authored by Chloe C. Hudson, Mark A. Sabbagh, and Kate L. Harkness.