<p>This sort of thinking is called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_mind" rel="nofollow noreferrer">theory of mind</a> (not to be confused with theories of how the mind works).</p>

<p>It's not entirely clear whether theory of mind is a discrete ability or a spectrum, but tasks requiring higher-order theorizing tend to be more difficult and are more likely to be lost to dysfunction:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Cognitive theory of mind is further separated into first order (e.g., I think she thinks that…) and second order (e.g., he thinks that she thinks that…)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I'm not aware of a specific term that distinguishes second-order theory of mind when the second-order person is in fact the first-person rather than a third-person (e.g., "she thinks that I think that...").</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-29T21:21:18.447Z
2019-10-29T21:21:18.447Z
Bryan Krause
<p>When a mind develops, it goes through numerous stages of awareness, such as (not necessarily in order)</p>

<ul>
<li>Awareness of others</li>
<li>Awareness of self</li>
<li>Awareness of other's thoughts (this may not be a discrete stage)</li>
</ul>

<p>What do you call the awareness of other's awareness of you (and the logical deduction of what they believe you're thinking)?</p>

<p>I believe this should be the stage before meta-gaming is possible.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-30T05:04:57.330Z
Possible duplicate of https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/23323/7001
Arnon Weinberg
<metacognition><awareness>
Thinking about What Others Think of You
bxk21
# Thinking about What Others Think of You

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-10-29)

When a mind develops, it goes through numerous stages of awareness, such as (not necessarily in order)

* Awareness of others
* Awareness of self
* Awareness of other's thoughts (this may not be a discrete stage)

What do you call the awareness of other's awareness of you (and the logical deduction of what they believe you're thinking)?

I believe this should be the stage before meta-gaming is possible.

**Tags:** metacognition, awareness

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Possible duplicate of https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/23323/7001  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-10-29. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

This sort of thinking is called [theory of mind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_mind) (not to be confused with theories of how the mind works).

It's not entirely clear whether theory of mind is a discrete ability or a spectrum, but tasks requiring higher-order theorizing tend to be more difficult and are more likely to be lost to dysfunction:

> Cognitive theory of mind is further separated into first order (e.g., I think she thinks that…) and second order (e.g., he thinks that she thinks that…)

I'm not aware of a specific term that distinguishes second-order theory of mind when the second-order person is in fact the first-person rather than a third-person (e.g., "she thinks that I think that...").


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