Young Children's Developnlent of Understanding Self, Other, and Language

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to propose that we should integrate three types of research in perspective-taking abilities of young children into a unified theory of their understanding another's mind. At least three types of these abilities have been pointed out: to infer what other people see (perceptual), what they think (cognitive), and what they feel (affective). Although these three topics all relate to young children's concepts of self and others, they have been studied independently. having nothing to do with one another. For example, they consisted of Piaget's three mountains task in visual perspective-taking research, the false-belief task in theory of mind research, and the disappointing gift paradigm in display rule research. Another important thing is the role of language or verbal communication to conceptualise the self and others. Language is important for children to understand self and other relationships in many ways. Executive function and narrative comprehension play important roles in the development of this understanding. Caregivers' participation in conversations with children and interactions between peers contribute significantly to the nature of the concepts of self and others.