The claim behind 'theory of mind' is that certain core conceptions organize and enable our everyday understanding ofthe social world. In particular, social cognition is based on thinking of people in terms of their mental states-theirbeliefs, desires, hopes, goals, and inner feelings. This everyday assumption of mind is powerfiil and constraining. Itleads us to try to use the mind and increase its powers, to share inner experiences, to distinguish between purelyimaginary and real events, and to interact with other persons by searching for and reaching out to their underlyingmentalities. A mentalistic construal of persons is fundamental not only to adults; essential parts of it develop early inchildhood. This raises intriguing questions: (1) When do children know what about basic mental-psychological states-intentions, beliefs, desires, emotions? (2) What conceptual progressions or sequences characterize development, fornormally developing and delayed individuals? (3) How does change occur: How are these conceptions developed andsocio-culturally transmitted; what factors shape understanding; to what extent is a mentalistic construal of personswidespread across cultures vs. lirnited to our society? (4) To what extent are theory of mind understandings speciallysupported in the brain; how are such brain mechanisms assembled and revised developmentally? The proposed research encompasses multiple interrelated investigations designed to address these questions. Theinvestigations include meta-analytic, conversational, laboratory, and neurophysiological studies that build on andadvance my recent related research, and that are designed to answer questions about sequence, change, culturaldifferences and similarities, and brain bases of our everyday theory of mind. The studies focus especially on infancyand the preschool years, a period of crucial change and transition for theory-of-mind understandings, and a period thatestablishes foundational conceptual achievements that enable and constrain cognitive development in later childhoodand adulthood.
i(See Instructions):Humans are a social species; understanding and navigating the social world is crucial to soimd cognitive, socio-emotional, and physical health. The current research provides critical information about successful and impaired socialunderstandings and informs intervention and training efforts promoting enhanced social understanding and interactionsfor infants, toddlers and preschoolers in circumstances of typical and atypical development.
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| Brandone, Amanda C (2015) Infants' social and motor experience and the emerging understanding of intentional actions. Dev Psychol 51:512-23 |
| Brink, Kimberly A; Lane, Jonathan D; Wellman, Henry M (2015) Developmental pathways for social understanding: linking social cognition to social contexts. Front Psychol 6:719 |
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| Rhodes, Marjorie; Hetherington, Chelsea; Brink, Kimberly et al. (2015) Infants' use of social partnerships to predict behavior. Dev Sci 18:909-16 |
| Bowman, Lindsay C; Kovelman, Ioulia; Hu, Xiaosu et al. (2015) Children's belief- and desire-reasoning in the temporoparietal junction: evidence for specialization from functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Front Hum Neurosci 9:560 |
| O'Reilly, Karin; Peterson, Candida C; Wellman, Henry M (2014) Sarcasm and advanced theory of mind understanding in children and adults with prelingual deafness. Dev Psychol 50:1862-77 |
| Dunphy-Lelii, Sarah; Labounty, Jennifer; Lane, Jonathan D et al. (2014) The Social Context of Infant Intention Understanding. J Cogn Dev 15:60-77 |
| Lane, Jonathan D; Harris, Paul L; Gelman, Susan A et al. (2014) More than meets the eye: young children's trust in claims that defy their perceptions. Dev Psychol 50:865-71 |
| Brandone, Amanda C; Horwitz, Suzanne R; Aslin, Richard N et al. (2014) Infants' goal anticipation during failed and successful reaching actions. Dev Sci 17:23-34 |
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