Self-knowledge in childhood: Relations with children's imaginary companions and understanding of mind.
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| Title: | Self-knowledge in childhood: Relations with children's imaginary companions and understanding of mind. |
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| Authors: | Davis, Paige E. (AUTHOR), Meins, Elizabeth (AUTHOR), Fernyhough, Charles (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | British Journal of Developmental Psychology. Sep2011, Vol. 29 Issue 3, p680-686. 7p. 4 Charts. |
| Subjects: | Analysis of covariance, Analysis of variance, Statistical correlation, Fantasy (Psychology), Imagination in children, Intellect, Psychology, Self-evaluation, Self-perception in children, Sex distribution, T-test (Statistics), Verbal behavior, Theory |
| Geographic Terms: | England |
| Abstract: | Relations between interior self-knowledge and (a) imaginary companion (IC) status and (b) theory of mind (ToM) abilities were investigated in a sample ( N= 80) of 4- to 7-year-olds. Interior self-knowledge was assessed in terms of the extent to which children acknowledged that they (rather than an adult) were the authority on unobservable aspects of themselves (e.g., dreaming, thinking, hunger). Compared with children without an IC, those who possessed a parentally corroborated IC ascribed less interior self-knowledge to an adult, with a trend for them to assign more interior self-knowledge to themselves. Children's interior self-knowledge judgments were not associated with their ToM performance. IC status was also unrelated to ToM performance. We consider how having an IC may provide children with opportunities to distinguish between knowledge that is inaccessible to an external observer and that which an external observer may glean without being told. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of British Journal of Developmental Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | Relations between interior self-knowledge and (a) imaginary companion (IC) status and (b) theory of mind (ToM) abilities were investigated in a sample ( N= 80) of 4- to 7-year-olds. Interior self-knowledge was assessed in terms of the extent to which children acknowledged that they (rather than an adult) were the authority on unobservable aspects of themselves (e.g., dreaming, thinking, hunger). Compared with children without an IC, those who possessed a parentally corroborated IC ascribed less interior self-knowledge to an adult, with a trend for them to assign more interior self-knowledge to themselves. Children's interior self-knowledge judgments were not associated with their ToM performance. IC status was also unrelated to ToM performance. We consider how having an IC may provide children with opportunities to distinguish between knowledge that is inaccessible to an external observer and that which an external observer may glean without being told. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 0261510X |
| DOI: | 10.1111/j.2044-835X.2011.02038.x |
