Abstract: Objective To explore the teaching effects of introducing “theory of mind” knowledge on chapter “Doctor-Patient communication” in “Medical Psychology” curriculum. Methods Two parallel classes of grade 2017 clinical medicine undergraduate course students were selected as teaching subjects. 81 students of class A were chosen as study group, 76 students of class B were selected as control group. “Theory of mind” knowledge were introduced into students of class A during chapter “Doctor-Patient communication” teaching process, while the same chapter was taught based on the textbook contents in class B. A1 choice questions, A2 choice questions, case analysis, teaching satisfaction survey were used to evaluate the teaching effects when the chapter teaching accomplished. Results There was no significant difference between the two groups on scores of A1 choice questions. The scores of class A was higher than that of class B on A2 choice questions, the difference was statistically significant. In case analysis, there was no significant difference between two groups on scores of communication design, medical content and the total scores. The scores of class A was higher than that of class B on humanistic content, the difference was statistically significant. There was no significant difference between the two groups on scores of teaching satisfaction survey. Conclusion Introducing “theory of mind” knowledge can improve the humanistic accomplishment, these knowledge can improve the teaching effects in chapter “Doctor-Patient communication” in “Medical Psychology” curriculum.

Key words: theory of mind, doctor-patient communication education, medical psychology