Sally–Anne false belief task

An experimental test of a person’s ability to understand that another person may have a different belief about a situation, one which differs from current reality and is thus ‘false’. This test involves a scenario enacted by two dolls called Sally and Anne and the movement of a marble when one is absent. The test is whether the person observing the scenario understands that the character who has been absent will not know that the marble is not in its original position. (See also Theory of Mind.)

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