PSYC200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Moral Development, Joint Attention, Egocentrism
Document Summary
Social cognition including theory of mind and social perspective taking. Social communication deficits: literal understanding of language; failure to recognise sarcasm. Theory of mind starts to develop in the first 2 years of life. Theory of mind starts to develop when children refer to mental states in their speech. The a(cid:271)ility to adopt another person"s perspe(cid:272)tive and understand her thoughts and feelings in relation to your own: represents theory of mind in action. Social perspective-taking abilities develop in a stage-like manner. 8-10 years old, children appreciate that two people can have different points of view even if they have access to the same information. Social perspective taking in adulthood: middle-aged adults are the best to see both sides of an issue and to integrate different perspectives, supporting the idea that social cognitive skills of adults may continue to improve after adolescence. Social conventions: rules used by society to govern everyday behaviour; arbitrary customs e. g. dress style, rituals.
