Chapter9 Flashcards
What is social cognition?
The ability to understand oneself and others in the social world, including thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
What are major components of social cognition?
Theory of mind, perspective taking, emotion recognition, and moral reasoning.
How are false beliefs related to Piaget’s concept of egocentrism?
Children must overcome egocentrism to understand that others can hold false beliefs.
What is autism?
A developmental disorder affecting communication, behavior, and social understanding, with varying levels of severity.
What are characteristics of autism?
Poor social skills, repetitive behaviors, narrow interests, and difficulty understanding others’ emotions.
What is Theory of Mind (ToM)?
The understanding that others have their own thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and perspectives.
Why is Theory of Mind important?
It supports empathy, moral development, deception, and social interaction.
What is joint attention?
Shared focus between a child and another person on the same object or event.
How does joint attention relate to language?
It predicts stronger language development and vocabulary growth.
What are age trends in Theory of Mind?
Develops from infancy to adolescence; improves with age and social interaction.
What predicts individual differences in Theory of Mind?
Verbal ability, attachment, mental-state talk, peers, siblings, and information processing.
How can adults nurture Theory of Mind?
Talk about thoughts and feelings, model empathy, and encourage diverse peer interactions.
Why is humor related to social cognition?
It requires understanding of others’ intentions and emotional states.
How does humor develop with age?
Infants enjoy physical humor, children like wordplay, adolescents understand sarcasm and irony.
What does a good sense of humor predict?
Social competence, coping skills, and positive peer relationships.
What predicts humor ability?
Verbal skills, creativity, working memory, and positive early experiences.
What are gender differences in humor?
Boys use more antisocial humor, girls use more relational humor.
How should teachers use humor?
Use positive humor, respond to student jokes appropriately, and respect cultural differences.
What is Piaget’s view of moral judgment?
Children move from rule-based heteronomous morality to cooperative autonomous morality.
What is Kohlberg’s view of moral judgment?
Moral development progresses through preconventional, conventional, and postconventional stages.
What is prosocial behavior?
Actions intended to benefit others, like sharing, helping, or comforting.
How does moral judgment develop over time?
Infants show empathy, children understand rules, adolescents consider intentions and abstract principles.
What influences moral development?
ToM, parenting style, attachment, education, religiosity, and moral identity.
How does moral judgment vary by gender?
Females tend to be more empathetic and religious; males score higher on abstract moral tasks.
How does SES affect moral judgment?
Higher SES is linked to higher moral reasoning due to increased education.
What can teachers/parents do to encourage moral development?
Use moral and character education, model virtues, discuss moral dilemmas, and provide opportunities to practice morality.
