Abstract
This chapter explores social cognition development in infancy and childhood, focusing on key milestones such as theory of mind, false beliefs, and emotional knowledge. It highlights the role of joint attention and social cues in communication and learning. The chapter emphasizes the transition from implicit to explicit understanding of false beliefs during early childhood. It discusses the interplay between cognitive development and sociocultural influences and addresses neurodevelopmental disorders linked to social cognitive deficits, detailing defining features and psychological implications. This comprehensive resource offers valuable insights for researchers, practitioners, and educators, promoting healthy social interactions and psychological well-being.
TopDevelopment Of Social Cognition In Childhood
Moments after birth, infants tend to prefer faces with a direct gaze over those with an averted gaze (Farroni, T. et al., 2002; Macchi Cassia, V. et al., 2001). Newborns show attentiveness towards voices, faces, and eye contact, yet they do not exhibit specific social expectations and demonstrate a limited interest in other social beings (Rochat, P. and Striano, T., 1999).
During the early months of life, significant changes take place in social cognition. By around 2 months of age, infants become more attuned to social cues, including eye contact and voice (Johnson, M.H. and Morton, J., 1991; Jaffe, J. et al., 2001). As they grow, their capacity for more complex social interactions also develops. Behne et al. (2005) conducted a study comparing the responses of 6, 9, and 18-month-old infants to adults interacting with them. The research aimed to assess the infants' ability to differentiate between intentional and accidental adult actions, revealing that while six-month-olds struggled to make this distinction, nine-month-olds could successfully do so. This shift highlights the dynamic nature of social cognitive development during infancy and signifies progress in understanding others' intentions, with broader implications for social interactions, communication, empathy, and overall social development in children.
Another critical shift in social cognition development involves the transition from dyadic to triadic interactions, where infants engage in person-object-person interactions instead of solely face-to-face interactions. These triadic interactions are essential for language skill development and imitation (Baldwin et al., 2001; Brooks et al., 2005). Research suggests that coordinated visual attention between individuals and objects emerges as early as three to four months of age, preceding the infant's capacity for joint attention (Striano et al., 2005; Flom et al., 2005). In an ERP study, Reid et al (2004) investigated the developmental progression of triadic interactions in infancy by examining neural responses to eye gaze-object relations. Infants aged 2, 4, 5, and 9 months were presented with faces looking toward or away from objects while EEG recorded brain activity. Theta and alpha oscillations were measured, revealing sensitivity to infants' differentiation between object-directed and object-averted gaze shifts (Hoehl et al., 2008, 2009; Senju et al., 2008). Theta synchronization differed in 5-month-olds, possibly indicating the emergence of attention networks (Mundy and Newell, 2007), while alpha desynchronization may support early social learning, facilitating joint attention (Hoehl et al., 2014a; Lachat et al., 2012). No significant differences were observed at 2 months, suggesting infants at this stage may not detect object–looker relations (Gredebäck et al., 2010). These findings underscore developmental changes in the neural processing of object–looker relations, highlighting the interplay between alpha and theta-band activities and the need for further research to explore their implications for encoding or learning new social information.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Neuropeptides: Are small protein-like molecules, composed of short chains of amino acids, that function as signalling molecules within the nervous system, regulating various physiological processes, including mood, stress, pain perception, and social behaviour, and playing a vital role in communication between neurons ( Vizi & Kiss, 1998 ).
Implicit False Belief: Refers to an individual's subconscious or automatic understanding that others may hold beliefs divergent from reality, even when these beliefs are not explicitly stated or communicated, highlighting the unconscious cognitive processes underlying the attribution of false beliefs ( Apperly & Butterfill, 2009 AU265: The citation "Apperly & Butterfill, 2009" matches multiple references. Please add letters (e.g. "Smith 2000a"), or additional authors to the citation, to uniquely match references and citations. ).
Social Cognition: Is defined as the process of encoding, storing, retrieving, and processing information about other people and social situations, encompassing the cognitive mechanisms underlying social interactions and behaviours ( Fiske & Taylor, 2013 ).
Joint Attention: Refers to the ability to share focus on an object or event with another individual, often involving both participants understanding that they are both attending to the same thing simultaneously ( Mundy, 2016 ).
Theory of Mind: Refers to the cognitive ability to attribute mental states, such as beliefs, intentions, and desires, to oneself and others, thus understanding that others may hold different beliefs and perspectives from one's own ( Premack & Woodruff, 1978 ).
Default Mode Network: Refers to a collection of brain regions that exhibit synchronized activity during rest or when an individual is not engaged in any specific cognitive tasks, playing a significant role in introspection, self-referential thinking, and the processing of internal and external stimuli related to one's personal experiences and emotions ( Raichle et al., 2001 AU262: The citation "Raichle et al., 2001" matches multiple references. Please add letters (e.g. "Smith 2000a"), or additional authors to the citation, to uniquely match references and citations. ).
Explicit False Belief: Refers to a conscious and deliberate understanding that someone else can hold beliefs that differ from actual reality, often involving the explicit acknowledgment and consideration of another individual's false beliefs, leading to an explicit representation of the cognitive divergence ( Apperly & Butterfill, 2009 AU263: The citation "Apperly & Butterfill, 2009" matches multiple references. Please add letters (e.g. "Smith 2000a"), or additional authors to the citation, to uniquely match references and citations. ).
Reading the Mind Through the Eyes Test: Is a psychological assessment tool designed to evaluate an individual's ability to infer mental states, including thoughts and emotions, based solely on images of the eye region, aiding in the assessment of theory of mind and emotional recognition skills ( Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Hill, Raste, & Plumb, 2001 ).
False Belief: Refers to the ability to understand that someone else can hold a belief that is different from reality. It involves recognizing that others may have different thoughts, knowledge, or perspectives than one's own. False belief reasoning is an important aspect of perspective-taking and social cognition (Daniel et al., 2017 AU264: The in-text citation "Daniel et al., 2017" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Emotional Knowledge: Refers to an individual's understanding and awareness of their own emotions as well as the ability to recognize and interpret the emotional states of others, contributing to effective emotional regulation and social interaction ( Brackett & Katulak, 2006 ).