Children's Theories of Mind: Mental States and Social Understanding

by Frye; Douglas

• ISBN13: 9780805804171
• ISBN10: 080580417X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1991-03-01
• Publisher: Psychology Pres

Summary

This book is a result of a study group that met to discuss the child's theory of mind. A topic whose effects span cognitive, language, and social development, it may bring a unifying influence to developmental psychology. New studies in this area acknowledge children's conceptions of intention and belief, as well as intention and belief themselves, and consider the explanations they provide for children's developing abilities. The contributors to this important volume examine several aspects of the child's theory of mind, and present significant research findings on the theory itself and how it changes and develops for each child. Discussions of the utility of a theory of mind to the child, and to developmental psychologists trying to understand children, are provided. Finally, new explanations are offered for how children acquire a theory of mind in the first place.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
The Acquisition and Utility Of Theories of Mind	p. 1
References	p. 12
The Origins of Intention in Infancy	p. 15
References	p. 37
The Infant's Theory Of Self-Propelled Objects	p. 39
References	p. 47
Intentional Communication And the Development of An Understanding of Mind	p. 49
References	p. 71
The Language of Emotion The Emotions, and Nominalist Bootstrapping	p. 77
References	p. 93
Young Children's Understanding Of Other People Evidence from Observations Within The Family	p. 97
References	p. 113
a Meeting of Minds in Infancy Imitation and Desire	p. 115
References	p. 136
On Representing That The Asymmetry Between Belief And Desire in Children's Theory of Mind	p. 139
References	p. 154
Intention in the Child's Theory Of Mind	p. 157
References	p. 170
The Development of The Language of Belief The Expression of Relative Certainty	p. 173
Modelling Embedded Intention	p. 195
References	p. 216
Author Index	p. 219
Subject Index	p. 225
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.