The Birth of Social Intelligence
Annette M E Henderson1, Sarah Gerson1, Amanda L Woodward1
1University of Maryland, College Park.
Zero to Three
|October 4, 2014
Summary
Infants develop an understanding of goal-directed actions and intentions early in life. By 13 months, they grasp individual intentions and shared actions, becoming social experts by age two.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Social Cognition
Background:
- Understanding others' actions is crucial for social functioning.
- Adults perceive actions as goal-directed and intention-driven.
- Infants' early social cognition is a key area of developmental research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine infants' understanding of human action.
- To identify the developmental trajectory of inferring intentions from actions in infancy.
- To explore infants' comprehension of individual versus shared intentions.
Main Methods:
- Review of key findings from studies on infant action understanding.
- Analysis of behavioral and cognitive indicators of intention recognition in infants.
- Longitudinal observation of infant social cognitive development.
Main Results:
- Infants demonstrate an understanding that intentions and attention guide actions within the first few months.
- By 13 months, infants differentiate between individual-specific and group-shared actions.
- Evidence suggests rapid development of social cognition in the first two years.
Conclusions:
- Infants possess nascent abilities to interpret the intentions behind actions.
- Early understanding of intention and attention lays the foundation for complex social interaction.
- Infants are developing sophisticated social expertise by their second birthday.
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