L11 Early social cogniton

• Light switch experiment

  • 14 month olds imitated an adult who touched a light switch with her head to activate it.
  • After two weeks, they were more likely to imitate her when her hands were free (69%) compared to when her hands were covered by a blanket (21%). Blanket = more likely to hit with their hands
• Box puzzle

  • Children over-imitate when solving a puzzle - imitate every step even when unnecessary. However, chimpanzees do not over-imitate.
  • Explanations of imitation: 1. To acquire knowledge. 2. To identify with others and build relations and acquire social representation.
• Social evaluation by pre verbal infants

  • 6 month olds prefer to play with the helper (anthropomorphism task) (Hamlin, Wynn & Bloom 2007). 
  • Red circle tries to get up the hill, yellow cube helps push red up the hill. In the next sequence the green triangle pushes the red sphere back down the hill.
  • Children will choose to play with the pro social yellow cube. 14/16 10 month olds and 12/16 6-month olds chose the helper. 
• Pedagogy: transfer of knowledge

  • One study shows that babies have a preference for a mother-like tone. When they turn to one side, there is a motherly voice and the other side there is a normal voice. They turn to the ‘motherese’ side more
• Broccoli experiment

  • Expressions: children will be more likely to eat a food an adult shows a positive facial expression towards.
• Metarepresentation:

  • This is the ability to think about your own thoughts. For example having the understanding that what we believed was true in the past may be different to what we now believe to be true. (Alan Leslie)
• Three mountains task 

  • This shows egocentrism as they only understand their own perspective. They are unable to have flexible thinking and may believe that everyone has the same knowledge of the world as they do.

   

  • Egocentrism shown in everyday life: hide and seek  - if I can’t see you you can’t see me.
• Sally Ann task

   

  Interpretations:

  • They lack the competence to generate the necessary representations of minds.
  • They possess the mental skills to generate false beliefs but fail because the task demands competence in verbal skills.
  • They possess the skills but find it difficult to inhibit the tendency to say what they know to be true.
  • The child was focused on the chocolate.
• Language skill is the biggest predictor of theory of mind - deaf children perform much worse if they have not been taught sign language early
• Prosocial behaviour = voluntary acts that intend to help others, which may have some potential benefit to the individual.
• • Altruism = a specific prosocial behaviour without the expectation of reciprocal benefit.
• Proposal: early prosocial behaviour is sympathy based.

  • Children will engage in this from around 14-18 months.
  • At 2 years, they will comfort others in distress, and start sharing.

  Later prosocial behaviour is strategic:

  • At 5 years, sharing is directed to those who are friends, have previously shared with the child, or in group members.

  Reputation:

  • Adults and children are more prosocial when they know they are being observed.
• Developing a sense of self:

  • Identifying with a group, and enforcing identities on each other e.g. gender stereotypes - in-groups and out-groups.
  • This influences morality and behaviour.
  • Study: child chooses the food they prefer. Two puppets are presented and say yuck or yum to the two food choices. Infants prefer the puppet which has the same likes as them.
  • Groups may be superficial - children given different coloured t-shirts and start to form groups
• Property:

  • The extended self - includes property and the notion of mine yours ours.
  • The endowment effect = we over-value our own possessions.
  • Cultural differences: in the hazda tribe of tanzania, most objects are shared in a demand sharing way (if you are not using it, then I can). They are not affected by the endowment effect.
• Piaget:

  • Moral reasoning is a skill to develop.
  • Stage 1 = shift from realism (rules are real e.g. Truths about society) to relativism (not set in stone)
  • Stage 2 = shift from prescriptions to principles.
  • Stage 3 = shift from consequences to intentions.
• Kohlberg:

  1. Preconventional stage
  2. Conventional stage
  3. Postconventional stage