Developing Theories of Intention Social Understanding and Self-control

The chapters collected in this volume represent the "state-of-the-art" of research on the development of intentional action and intentional understanding--topics that are at the intersection of current research on imitation, early understanding of mental states, goal-directed behavior in nonhuman animals, executive function, language acquisition, and narrative understanding, to name just a few of the relevant foci. Collectively, the contributors demonstrate that intentionality is a key issue in the cognitive and social sciences. Moreover, in a way that was anticipated more than a century ago by the seminal work of J. Mark Baldwin, they are beginning to reveal how the control of action is related in development to children's emerging self-conscious and their increasingly sophisticated appreciation of other people's perspectives. This volume brings together the world's leading researchers on early social and cognitive development in an in-depth exploration of children's understanding of themselves and others.

Contents: P.D. Zelazo, J.W. Astington, D.R. Olson, Preface. D.R. Olson, J.W. Astington, P.D. Zelazo, Introduction: Actions, Intentions, and Attributions. Part I:Development of Intention and Intentional Understanding in Infancy and Early Childhood. A.N. Meltzoff, A. Gopnik, B.M. Repacholi, Toddlers' Understanding of Intentions, Desires, and Emotions: Explorations of the Dark Ages. C. Moore, Intentional Relations and Triadic Interactions. M. Tomasello, Having Intentions, Understanding Intentions, and Understanding Communicative Intentions. M. Lewis, D. Ramsay, Intentions, Consciousness, and Pretend Play. P.D. Zelazo, Language, Levels of Consciousness, and the Development of Intentional Action. D. Frye, Development of Intention: The Relation of Executive Function to Theory of Mind. J. Perner, S. Stummer, B. Lang, Executive Functions and Theory of Mind: Cognitive Complexity or Functional Dependence? D.R. Olson, D. Kamawar, The Theory of Ascriptions. Part II:Comparative Perspectives on Intentionality. M.D. Hauser, Primate Representations and Expectations: Mental Tools for Navigating in a Social World. D.J. Povinelli, Social Understanding in Chimpanzees: New Evidence From a Longitudinal Approach. Part III:The Sociocultural Context of Intentionality. J. Dunn, Making Sense of the Social World: Mindreading, Emotion, and Relationships. J.S. Reznick, Influences on Maternal Attribution of Infant Intentionality. J. Jenkins, R. Greenbaum, Intention and Emotion in Child Psychopathology: Building Cooperative Plans. Part IV:Intentionality and Language. J.W. Astington, The Language of Intention: Three Ways of Doing It. C.F. Feldman, Intentionality and Interpretation. J. Bruner, The Intentionality of Referring.

Philip David Zelazo, Janet Wilde Astington, David R. Olson