Contents:
P. Mitchell, C. Lewis, Critical Issues in Children's Early Understanding of Mind. Part I: Ontogenesis of an Understanding of Mind. P. Mitchell, Realism and Early Conception of Mind: A Synthesis of Phylogenetic and Ontogenetic Issues. A. Whiten, Grades of Mindreading. R.P. Hobson, Perceiving Attitudes, Conceiving Minds. N.H. Freeman, Associations and Dissociations in Theories of Mind. Part II: Attention, Perception and Cognition: The Legacy of Infancy. G. Butterworth, Theory of Mind and the Facts of Embodiment. D.A. Baldwin, L.J. Moses, Early Understanding of Referential Intent and Attentional Focus: Evidence from Language and Emotion. A. Gopnik, V. Slaughter, A. Meltzoff, Changing Your Views: How Understanding Visual Perception Can Lead to a New Theory of the Mind. S. Baron?Cohen, H. Ring, A Model of the Mindreading System: Neuropsychological and Neurobiological Perspectives. Part III: The Role of Pretence. A. Lillard, Making Sense of Pretence. P.L. Harris, Understanding Pretence. J. Perner, S. Baker, D. Hutton, Prelief: The Conceptual Origins of Belief and Pretence. A. Lillard, P. Harris, J. Perner, Commentary: Triangulating Pretence and Belief. Part IV: The Role of Communication. J. Dunn, Changing Minds and Changing Relationships. M. Shatz, Theory of Mind and the Development of Social?linguistic Intelligence in Early Childhood. H.M. Wellman, K. Bartsch, Before Belief: Children's Early Psychological Theory. E.J. Robinson, What People Say, What They Think, and What Is Really the Case: Children's Understanding of Utterances as Sources of Knowledge. Part V: Misrepresentation. B. Sodian, Early Deception and the Conceptual Continuity Claim. M. Chandler, S. Hala, The Role of Personal Involvement in the Assessment of Early False Belief Skills. M. Siegal, C.C. Peterson, Children's Theory of Mind and the Conversational Territory of Cognitive Development. C. Lewis, Episodes, Events and Narratives in the Child's Understanding of Mind.

"How do you go from a bunch of cells to something that can think?" This question, asked by the 9-year-old son of one of the authors, speaks to a puzzle that lies at the heart of this book. How are we as humans able to explore such questions about our own origins, the workings of our mind, and more? In this fascinating volume, developmental psychologists Jeremy Carpendale and Charlie Lewis delve into how such human capacities for reflection and self-awareness pinpoint a crucial facet of human intelligence that sets us apart from closely related species and artificial intelligence. Richly illustrated with examples, including questions and anecdotes from their own children, they bring theories and research on children’s development alive. The accessible prose shepherds readers through scientific and philosophical debates, translating complex theories and concepts for psychologists and non-psychologists alike. What Makes Us Human is a compelling introduction to current debates about the processes through which minds are constructed within relationships. Challenging claims that aspects of thinking are inborn, Jeremy Carpendale and Charlie Lewis provide a relationally grounded way of understanding human development by showing how the uniquely human capacities of language, thinking, and morality develop in children through social processes. They explain the emergence of communication within the rich network of relationships in which babies develop. Language is an extension of this earlier communication, gradually also becoming a tool for thinking that can be applied to understanding others and morality. Learning more about the development of what is right in front of us, such as babies’ actions developing into communicative gestures, leads to both greater appreciation of the children in our lives and a grasp of what makes us human. This book will be of interest to anyone curious about the nature of language, thinking, and morality, including students, parents, teachers, and professionals working with children.

"How do you go from a bunch of cells to something that can think?" This question, asked by the 9-year-old son of one of the authors, speaks to a puzzle that lies at the heart of this book. How are we as humans able to explore such questions about our own origins, the workings of our mind, and more? In this fascinating volume, developmental psychologists Jeremy Carpendale and Charlie Lewis delve into how such human capacities for reflection and self-awareness pinpoint a crucial facet of human intelligence that sets us apart from closely related species and artificial intelligence. Richly illustrated with examples, including questions and anecdotes from their own children, they bring theories and research on children’s development alive. The accessible prose shepherds readers through scientific and philosophical debates, translating complex theories and concepts for psychologists and non-psychologists alike. What Makes Us Human is a compelling introduction to current debates about the processes through which minds are constructed within relationships. Challenging claims that aspects of thinking are inborn, Jeremy Carpendale and Charlie Lewis provide a relationally grounded way of understanding human development by showing how the uniquely human capacities of language, thinking, and morality develop in children through social processes. They explain the emergence of communication within the rich network of relationships in which babies develop. Language is an extension of this earlier communication, gradually also becoming a tool for thinking that can be applied to understanding others and morality. Learning more about the development of what is right in front of us, such as babies’ actions developing into communicative gestures, leads to both greater appreciation of the children in our lives and a grasp of what makes us human. This book will be of interest to anyone curious about the nature of language, thinking, and morality, including students, parents, teachers, and professionals working with children.

The Development of Children's Thinking offers undergraduate and graduate students in psychology and other disciplines an introduction to several core areas of developmental psychology. It examines recent empirical research within the context of longstanding theoretical debates. In particular, it shows how a grasp of classic theories within developmental psychology is vital for a grasp of new areas of research such as cognitive neuroscience that have impacted on our understanding of how children develop. The focus of this book will be on infancy and childhood, and it looks at: Theories and context of development How developmental psychology attempts to reconcile influences of nature and nurture Communication in infancy as a precursor to later thinking Language development in primates and young children Cognitive and social development, including the child's understanding of the mind How studies of moral reasoning reflect upon our understanding of development