I AM A...
On this page, we've gathered together different pieces of information that we think are most relevant for you
MENTAL
HEALTH
PROFESSIONAL
TEACHER
POLICY
MAKER
PARENT
Click on any of the sections below to learn more.
Before we can understand someone well - well enough to know what emotion they're feeling, what their intentions are, and how to best interpret their behaviour - we need to form an idea of them in our mind. In this section we explain how we think people do this.
Everyone has a unique experience of the world and of other people. This section explains how that unique experience will influence the way your mind works, and how you understand other people.
The way we talk to children about other people - about what they might think and feel - can change the how and what children think about those people. Our research suggests that the way we talk to children depends on their gender expression, which may not necessarily be beneficial for them. We explain more in this section.
Some children have a condition called 'Development Language Disorder', often shortened to 'DLD', in which the children have long-term challenges talking and/or understanding words. Given the importance of language to how we think about others, here's what you need to know about the relation between DLD and understanding other people's thoughts and feelings.
In this section we explain how your individual life experience, especially if it includes adverse childhood experiences and trauma, can influence the way you think about others. Our work suggests that people with trauma are much better at understanding the minds of other people with trauma.
Autism is a spectrum condition and affects people in different ways. Find out in this section how Autism may influence the way people think about others, empathise with them and, also, how it might affect the way people process others' faces.