Early Social Cognition: Understanding Others in the First Months of Life - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 080582829X ISBN 13: 9780805828290

Publisher: Psychology Press, 1999

Synopsis

In recent years, much stimulating research has emerged on children's theories of mind, construed as the understanding of others' intentions, beliefs, and desires. In this context, there is a renewed interest in the developmental origins of social cognition. This book is an expression of this new interest, assembling current conceptualizations and research on the precursors of joint engagement, language, and explicit theories of mind. The focus is on what announces such remarkable development.

The book is divided into four parts. Part I deals with the nature and development of social cognition in infancy. Each contribution provides a different view of the important features of social cognition in the first months of life. Part II presents recent empirical findings on the developing ability by young infants to detect whether caretakers and social partners are attentive and responsive to their own behavior in social exchanges. Part III focuses on the early development of infants' ability to monitor others in their action, their gazing, their animacy, and their emotion. Part IV offers a commentary on the contributions as a whole, discussing the basic theoretical assumptions guiding current research on early social cognition. The author identifies the conceptual strengths and weaknesses of the work presented and suggests interesting avenues for future research.

About this title

About the Author

Philippe Rochat

Edition details

• Publisher: Psychology Press
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 080582829X
• ISBN 13: 9780805828290
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352
• Editor: Rochat Philippe