Theory of mind and reflective function Identification of an interdisciplinary field of study for teacher training

Abstract

The ability of understanding mental states (mentalization) is not genetically given, but develops depending on the critical interacting with more mature, benign, and reflective minds. The reflective function is defined as the outward manifestation of mentalization. The Recommendations of the European Parliament and Council in 2006 identify as a goal that of providing every citizen with social and civic skills, together with the development of critical and creative thinking skills meant as the specific goal of training.
This paper claims that the reflective function is the basic condition for the development of such skills and that the function can be the subject matter of training.