The authors interpret this as evidence that participants calculated what the avatar could see (level-1 perspective taking) automatically, in parallel to the calculation of what the subject herself could see. As the authors put it: ‘This is the first direct evidence of a cognitively efficient process for “theory of mind” in adults that operates independently of executive function . In contrast, the selection of which perspective to draw upon in judging the number of discs is a controlled process requiring executive resources, and is therefore impaired by the cognitive load manipulation.