When does our acknowledgment of the social contract really
begin? When do young children first display an understanding of
their social world? When and why do they begin to grasp that other
people have feelings and thoughts like their own, yet different? In
this pathbreaking work Judy Dunn explores several aspects of the
early process of social discovery: children's recognition of the
feelings of others, their ability to interpret and anticipate the
behavior and relationships of others, and their comprehension of
the prohibitions and accepted practices of their world.
Dunn's work brings into focus an apparent paradox in our current
view of the very young child's social understanding. Whereas
research on infancy reveals that babies are born with a
predisposition to learn about other people, and appear sensitive to
the emotions and behavior of others, experimental studies suggest
that children of three, four, and five years of age have difficulty
gauging the feelings, intentions, and perceptions of others. Why
should this social intelligence--which might be expected to be high
on the developmental agenda--proceed so slowly? Is the social
understanding of young children really so limited? Dunn pursues
answers to these questions through close observation of children in
their homes, in the complex social world of the family; her
findings suggest a sophistication that has not yet been appreciated
or documented.
"The Beginnings of Social Understanding" draws upon
observations and analyses from three longitudinal studies of
children during the transition from infancy to childhood, examining
children's disputes, jokes, play, their questions and narratives
about others. The book demonstrates children's increasing subtlety
as members of a cultural world, and argues that emotional
relationships and family discourse play crucial roles in the
development of this understanding. Dunn breaks through traditional
notions of child development as she sets forth a refreshingly
original perspective from which to view the social potential of
children.
General
Imprint: |
Harvard University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
April 2014 |
First published: |
October 2013 |
Authors: |
Judy Dunn
|
Dimensions: |
234 x 156 x 14mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover - Sewn / Cloth over boards
|
Pages: |
224 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-674-33060-3 |
Categories: |
Books >
Social sciences >
Psychology >
Child & developmental psychology
|
LSN: |
0-674-33060-9 |
Barcode: |
9780674330603 |
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