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The idea behind this book is that developing a conception of the physical world and a conception of mind is impossible without the exercise of agency, meaning "the power to alter at will one's perceptual inputs". The thesis is derived from a philosphical account of the role of agency in knowledge.; The book is divided into three parts. In Part One, the author argues that "purely representational" theories of mind and of mental development have been overvalued, thereby clearing the ground for the book's central thesis. In Part Two, he proposes that, because objective experience depends upon the experience of agency, the development of the "object concept" in human infants is grounded in the development of executive-attentional capacities. In Part Three, an analysis of the links between agency and self-awareness generates an original theory of the nature of certain stage-like transitions in mental functioning and of the relationship between executive and mentalizing defects in autism.; The book should be of interest to students and researchers in cognitive- developmental psychology, to philosophers of mind, and to anybody with an interest in cognitive science.
A major feature of human intelligence is that it allows us to contemplate mental life. Such an understanding is vital in enabling us to function effectively in social groups. This book examines the origins of this aspect of human intelligence. The five sections attempt firstly, to place human development within an evolutionary context, focusing on the possibility of innate components of understanding. The second aim of the book is to examine the roles of early perception, pretence and communication as precursor skills in the development of a grasp of mental states. Thirdly, attention is given to the possibility that children know a good deal more about the mind than is apparent from many stu...
This volume reflects the renewal of interest in `Self' and `Identity' among social scientists. It adopts an interdisciplinary approach to explore different perspectives across the lifespan, from the neonate to the elderly adult.
This state-of-the-art review of research covers children's understanding of the school, economics, politics, the law and legal processes, gender roles, social class and occupational groupings, racial groups, ethnic groups and national groups.
The Body and the Self brings together recent work by philosophers and psychologists on the nature of self-consciousness, the nature of bodily awareness, and the relation between the two. The central problem addressed is How is our grasp of ourselves as one object among others underpinned by the ways in which we use and represent our bodies? The contributors take up such issues as how should we characterize the various distinctive ways we have of being in touch with our own bodies in sensation, proprioception, and action? How exactly does our grip on our bodies as objects connect with our ability to perceive the external environment, and with our ability to engage in various forms of social interaction? Can any of these ways of representing our bodies affect a bridge between body and self?
This volume is a valuable resource for student and professional researchers interested in executive function, emotion, and social development.
Provides a contemporary review of methods and theories of the development of intellectual abilities from infancy to adulthood by the major researchers in the field.
This book presents a general overview of our current knowledge of language development in children. All the principal strands of language development are covered, including phonological, lexical, syntactic and pragmatic development; bilingualism; precursors to language development in infancy; and the language development of children with developmental disabilities, including children with specific language impairment. Written by leading international authorities, each chapter summarises clearly and lucidly our current state of knowledge, and carefully explains and evaluates the theories which have been proposed to account for children's development in that area.
Cutting across the studies described are a number of common themes: an interest in individual differences; in using natural language data and observational methods as well as experimental approaches; in gender differences in emotional expression and experiences and their implications; and, perhaps most striking of all, in framing developmental questions in terms of both cognitive and emotional development.
Human memory is not only the repository of our past but the essence of who we are. As such, it is of enduring fascination. We marvel at its resilience in some situations and its fragility in others. The origin of this extraordinary cognitive capacity in infancy and childhood is the focus of vigorous research and debate as we seek to understand the record of our earliest beginnings. The first edition of this volume, The Development of Memory in Childhood, documented the state-of-the-art science of memory development a decade ago. This new edition, The Development of Memory in Infancy and Childhood, provides a thorough update and expansion of the previous text and offers reviews of new researc...