How Children Develop Social Understanding

This book provides a critical review of research into how children come to understand the social world, an area often known as children's "theories of mind". Takes an integrated approach to the development of children's social understanding Brings out the connections between mental state understanding and children's understanding of language, social skills, morality and emotions. Sets research within a historical and theoretical context Contributes unique insights and perspectives, particularly in its discussions of Piaget and Vygotsky, and in its Wittgensteinian focus on the role of language.

Series Editor's Preface. Preface. 1. Social Understanding and Social Interaction: An introduction to the issues. 2. Contemporary Theories of Social Understanding. 3. Understanding False Beliefs. 4. The Development of Social Understanding in Infancy. 5. Domain General Approaches to Reasoning about the Mind. 6. Social Interaction and the Development of Social Understanding: The role of relationships in social cognitive development. 7. Language and Social Understanding. 8. Beyond (False) Belief: What do preschoolers still have to learn about the mind?. 9. Social Understanding and Children's Social Lives. 10. Constructing an Understanding of Mind. References. Author Index. Subject Index.