Infant social attention predicts preschool social cognition.
Recent research examining infants' understanding of intentional action claims to be studying the early origins or precursors of children's later theories of mind If these infant understandings are continuous with later preschool achievements, there should be empirical connections between the two. We provide initial evidence that infants' social attention predicts later social cognition. Specifically, 14-month-olds' habituation to human intentional action significantly predicts later preschool mentalistic construal of persons, as measured on a Theory of Mind Scale.
Wellman
Henry M
HM
Center for Human Growth and Development, and Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 48109-0406, USA. hmw@umich.edu
Phillips
Ann T
AT
Dunphy-Lelii
Sarah
S
LaLonde
Nicole
N
D001288:Attention; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D003210:Concept Formation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007804:Language Development; D008297:Male; D002666:Psychology, Child; D012578:Schools, Nursery; D012919:Social Behavior; D012938:Social Perception