Childrens Discovery of the Active Mind

During the past 25 years, a great deal of research and theory has addressed the development of young childrens understanding of mental states such as knowledge, beliefs, desires, intentions, and emotions. Although developments in childrens understanding of the mind subsequent to early childhood has received less attention, in recent years a growing body of research has emerged examining understanding of psychological functioning during middle and late childhood. Combined with the literature on adolescent epistemological development, this research provides a broader picture of age-related changes in childrens understanding of the mind. Guided by the goals of describing developmental changes in childrens concepts of cognitive functioning and identifying sources of information that contribute to learning about cognition, Childrens Discovery of the Active Mind organizes empirical literature concerning the development of childrens knowledge of cognitive activities from early childhood to adolescence and presents a conceptual framework that integrates childrens introspective activities with social influences on development. Bringing together theoretical and empirical work from developmental, cognitive, and social psychology, the author argues that rather than depending upon a single source of information, developmental progress is driven by combinations of childrens conceptual knowledge of mental functioning, childrens phenomenological awareness of their own cognitive activities, and childrens social experience.