Social development and learning DVML

Learning in social context (vygotsky)

Learning is the result of an interaction between a child and a more knowledgeable individual

• cultural provides context within which interactions take place

• Language provides the means through which meanings are shared

ZDP (zone of proximal development)

Difference between actual performance and potential performance

• how the child learns with help of others

Importance of external monologue

Transition from language as tool for communication to a tool for thought

Help organise and plan behaviour

Internalised to become inner speech - 7 years

Contrast to Piaget who thought monologue as evidence of egocentrism

Bruner and scaffolding

How knowledge is passed from expert adult to child

• recruitment = engage interest of child

• Reduction of degrees of freedom = reduce number of acts required simplify

• Direction maintenance = keep motivation up

• Marking critical features = highlight relevant features

• Demonstration = modelling solutions

Cultural intelligence hypothesis

Humans have evolved special social cognitive skills eg theory of mind

Role of observer (child)

“Primed” to attend to demonstrators cues

Able to learn even “opaque” technologies and arbi communication guide learning

Copying higher level of fidelity

• imitation vs emulation

Mirror test

From 21 months most children know it’s their own reflection by touching their nose as there’s red on it

Temporal sense of self

“I am the same self that I was yesterday”

Full temporal sense of self develops after 3y

Povinelli et al (1996)

Sticker places on head then took pictures of them, showed them these pics

3 and 4 years reaches for sticker. Younger children did not

Person permanence

Internal representation of a social being.

Developed by 18m

Lewis and Brooke guns social dimensions (1979)

Familiarity: different behaviour to familiar vs strange

Age: discriminate children and adults by 6-12 months

Gender: discriminate women and men

Emotional development- production

Positive and negative affect only after birth

Few months - basic emotions (joy, interest, anger, sadness)

7 months: fear responses

2-3y: secondary emotions (embarrassment, pride, shame)

Recognising emotion

Discriminate emotions early on (10w - haviland and Lelwica 1987)

Social referencing: gauge response from caregiver before reacting. Wary reaction to caregivers

Emotional intelligence

Learn to regulate emotion: switch from external to internal management

Accuracy in recognising emotions = better accepted by peers.

Harris (1989)

Understanding another’s mind

Precursors to this understanding:

• self awareness(verbally express emotional states)18-20m

• Capacity for pretence (pretend something in the world is something else) 2-3y

• Distinguishing reality from pretence. 3-4y

Theory of mind

Putting yourself in another shoes and seeing it from another perspective

Measured by false belief task - sally anne

When is theory of mind achieved?

Wellman (2001) - very few 2y, some 3y, most 4y

Southgate and Vernetti (2014)

Measured activation in motor cortex of adults. 6 month old showed same brain activity

Authors conclude infants make action prediction based on agents belief

What impacts development?

Language: children who perform better on false belief tasks tend to have better language abilities

Interaction with peer/family: those with older siblings and large families do better.

Theory of mind after 4 years

Understanding surprise: 5y chose correct surprise over neutral face

Deception: 5y can lie from beginning, 4y got better over trials

Osterhaus and Bosacki (2022)

Advanced theory of mind

Review of tests from middle childhood - individual differences in AToM related to inhibition and language skills not empathy

Conceptual change (ToM developing)

Develop concept of mental representations,

mental states aren’t direct reflections of reality - can be un accurate

Evidence: differences between 3 and 4y on traditional false belief tasks

Understanding develops gradually (ToM developing)

Do not suddenly acquire concept

Realist tendency overrides understanding of beliefs. Other cognitive abilities mask understanding

Evidence: tasks reduce complexity/cognitive demands show success as younger ages; ongoing development and perhaps some decline on certain measures with older age