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Children's Developing Descriptions and Judgments of Pretending.
David M Sobel1, Susan M Letourneau2
1Brown University.
Child Development
|June 5, 2018
Summary
Children
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Development
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Pretending is a complex cognitive skill crucial for development.
- Understanding pretending is linked to children's developing theory of mind.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate 4- to 7-year-olds' knowledge and understanding of pretending.
- To explore the relationship between defining features of pretending and mental state understanding.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted with children aged 4 to 7 years.
- Study 1 involved defining pretending and providing examples.
- Study 2 included defining pretending and a battery of mental state understanding measures.
Main Results:
- Older children provided more defining features of pretending than younger children.
- Children often focused on actions or appearance when describing pretending.
- A greater articulation of defining features correlated with better mental state understanding.
Conclusions:
- Children's understanding of pretending develops with age.
- The ability to define pretending accurately is linked to understanding mental states.
- Pretending plays a significant role in the development of theory of mind.
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