Cognition and development - The development of social cognition

Question 1

What is social cognition?

Answer 1

• The mental (Cognitive) processes that relate to the social world, such as understanding other peoples intentions perspectives and emotions
• These can be worked out by interpreting other peoples behaviour
• According to Selman, the development of social cognition happens by passing through levels of perspective-taking
• This is moving from an egocentric perspective to an understanding that others perspectives are shaped by culture and morality

Question 2

What are Selman’s developmental stages of social cognition?

Answer 2

• Stage 0: Egocentric (3-6 Years)
• Stage 1: Social informational role-taking (6-8 Years)
• Stage 2: Self-reflective role-taking (8-10 Years)
• Stage 3: Mutual/third party role-taking (10-12 Years)
• Stage 4: Social and conventional system (Societal) role-taking (12-Adult)

Question 3

What are the characteristics of an individual in stage 0?

Answer 3

-An individual in stage 0 is egocentric, they know others have thoughts separate from their own but will often confuse them with their own thoughts

Question 4

What are the characteristics of an individual in stage 1?

Answer 4

-An individual in stage 1 can reliably consider someone else’s perspective, but only one person at a time

Question 5

What are the characteristics of an individual in stage 2?

Answer 5

• An individual in stage 2 can fully appreciate the perspective of 1 person
• They can “Step into another’s shoes”

Question 6

What are the characteristics of an individual in stage 3?

Answer 6

-An individual in stage 3 can simultaneously consider multiple peoples perspectives

Question 7

What are the characteristics of an individual in stage 4?

Answer 7

-An individual in stage 4 knows views are influenced by culture and individual values

Question 8

What is a strength of Selman’s developmental stages of social cognition?

Answer 8

-Gurucharri and Selman found that 40/41 children in a 5 year longitudinal study developed as expected by Selman

Question 9

What is a strength of Selman’s developmental stages of social cognition?

Answer 9

-Selman and Byrne found that, when children were presented with dilemma tasks and asked to describe the viewpoints of the characters, there was a correlation between age and stage of perspective in line with Selman’s theory

Question 10

What is a strength of Selman’s developmental stages of social cognition?

Answer 10

• Fitzgerald and White found that when children were told by parents to take the perspective of the victim when being punished, their perspective taking was more developed
• This demonstrates that parenting style is linked to the child’s ability to take other perspectives

Question 11

What is a weakness of Selman’s developmental stages of social cognition?

Answer 11

• Selman’s theory can be criticised for not including a role for understanding others emotions or feeling empathy when taking the perspective of others
• The entire focus of the theory is on children’s understanding of another’s perspective

Question 12

What is a strength of Selman’s developmental stages of social cognition?

Answer 12

• Understanding the stage a child is in has important implications for conflict resolution in schools, with teachers better able to deal with issues related to bullying and racism
• The theory can also be applied in family therapy, helping parents better understand behavioural issues in relation to their child’s stage of social cognition