The Beginnings of Social Understanding

Author: Judy Dunn
ISBN: 0674064534

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 per

Publisher: Harvard University Press
Publish Date: 1988

Subjects: Psychology / General, Psychology / Psychotherapy / Child & Adolescent, Social Science / General

This book is available in the following Community Centers: Cross-Cultural Center (Location: Sociology (SOCI))