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This article discusses the exclusivity of Theory of Mind as a human capacity, and explicates how non-human primates acquire the capacity to perceive the mental states of others, but only when the contents of the minds are aligned. Monkeys and apes have been found to fail the false-belief task, and despite holding the ability to reflect on knowledge that is currently present, these primates are unable to make predictions about any mind that does not have the same knowledge.

This article highlights the difference in development of ToM in normal functioning adults and psychopaths despite the latter group being able to understand what other people think and believe just accurately as the former group. While regular-functioning adults mentalize automatically, beginning as an involuntary process from infancy, this process happens less strongly in psychopaths. Research has shown that psychopaths do not have the automatic ability that most people have, despite being able to deliberately take the perspective of another.