Social Understanding as Theory of Mind

Reviews the book, Social understanding and social lives: From toddlerhood through to the transition to school by Claire Hughes (see record 2011-04191-000). This book gives readers a glimpse into how some researchers understand children’s social functioning. The documentary chronicles the lives of newborns as they progress to toddlerhood and leaves viewers wondering what the infants and toddlers might be thinking as they grow and develop. Hughes’s book focuses primarily on findings from theory-of-mind research, teaching readers about infants’ and toddlers’ ability to understand their own and others’ false beliefs, intentions, emotions, and behaviors. Readers learn a perspective on how toddlers see the world, negotiate the microcontexts they face daily, and prepare to enter the relatively impersonal world of schooling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)