The mind in the mind of the beholder: Elucidating relational influences on early social understanding

Relational experiences shape emergent s d a l understanding, nnd two inffuences deserve particular attention. First, ~arent-cllild conversation about sl~ared expeiclin~rllt tllrorists, for example, believe that wp~.ese~ltiitio~is (or"i~~ttxl.l~iil \vorking moclels") of people, self, ~uid relatio~lships arisc* frolll \.;uii~tio~~s in attachment security and pattenls of' coniriiu~~ici~tim shilrt.11 wvid~in secure or insecure parent-child rvli~tioaships (Brihtlierto~l h MunhoLand 1999). The view that coni~n~inication \vitl~in sillic~it relationships shapes early social unc~erstanding pro\idps i111 op~~or tor~ih to b6tter understand the processes by which social i~iteristiun is influential. This is one & tlie futur~dircctio~ls for rt~sc~irnwll identified by CL working models their offspring develop (T I lonipson 2000). Eliibomtive rliscourse about shared experiences in tlie contux? of u generully warm, secure relationshi may enlrance children's receptiveness to the understanding o f psychological status e~iibeddecl within such conversntions. For tl~is reason, we tire explco~ing in current research the association between ~nii t~nial "~liind-lliindeclness" (Meills 1909) and elabol-ative ciiscourse to elucidate itvenues ly wllich uttachment security arid social cognitive develro~~ment may be related. This work also offers avenues for clarifflng the nature and development of the "interntd uq~rking modr~ls" of interest to attachment researchers (Tl~oin son & Raikes 2003). Discourse quality in pnrent-c 7 lild conversation is i~liportant not only for the reasons identified by CCL (e.g., as a Illaun for becoming a w e of beliefs; as a wily of representi~~g fiilse belief in contrast to redity), but also as a means for understa~vbng tlie social constructivist processes within relationsliips that they e~npliasize. In conversation about shared experiemes, the secandaiy representations provided in parental discourse are juxttil)osed with the child's direct representations tl~rougli experience: and the Lwnvergence, dissonance, comnpleinentarity, and clifferentid focus of these representations are a rich basis for the wnstructivist processes described by CLmtly to tltc constr t~ct io~~ of social and psycl~ological ~~~lderstarttli~lg. F ~ ~ r t l ~ e r ~ n o r e . tllc, c o ~ ~ t t ~ s t of sl~arctl c~o~~vr~rsntiott is i~r~po~-t;ult. ContGuy to CItlic*~~i co~~\.crsilt~o~ia l co~itext l)ecausc 11ot11ing focuses iiyorrn~ cl~iltl's : ~ i t c ~ ~ t . ~ o n o11 differing ~ i ~ e ~ t t a l s atcs t1tn11 thv n.alizution t1l;tt col~flict u3th iu1other 11111st I) I I I ; ~ I I ; L ~ C Y ~ . TIIII~, II):I~~TII;L~ vt*rI1;11 co~~ll ic t-rr~sol t~t io~~ strategies in sharer1 co~tv~rs;~t iot~ lu r i~~g tlisp~ttibs, st1c.11 ;a ~~totlti~r 's rue of jnstiiiciitio~is, rrfc~.etices to ~ ' ~ ~ l o t i o ~ ~ s . a ~ ~ d ii~itit(bd IIS(% of tlireatr~ii~lg or i~~ti~rtitlatitlg tactics, predict young cltiltlrc*t~h i.111ot iold aritl moral t l r v e l o p ~ ~ ~ e ~ ~ t 111otit11s Inter (L;lil)lc. & rT l~ol~ tpso~~ 2002). The second feature of soci;d i~~tcraction higl~liglttrd I)y thcse filldings ;ultl largely ~leglectcrl Ily C:Luigt~ration of the "epistemic triarlgle" ill inh~nc!; as ctnotions co~ltribute to self-other rlifferentiation L I I ~ ~ oo ~texts of sliarrtl referc311ce ;mtl joi11t attention (such ;IS in sc)cial n~fi~rencillg). Mortaover, ~ ~ n o t i t ~ r t orgiunizrs early untlrrsta~ltli~tg of r1lr11ta11 statcs Ijy con~lc~cting c~irotion to I>roaldt~r c ~ n e r g r > ~ ~ t represr~itulions of relationsl~ips, self-~~ft~rerit I~cliefs. ant1 co~l~prel~ensio~t of beliavioriil cxpcotations. Eniot io~~ is importaut, tlicreforc~, becm~se it is not o111y t11i11kirig ~ 1 ~ 1 t l t el~lotio~l (tvltich lias I~eeri the* focus of I T I L I C ~ tlteo~y-of~ni~rcl research) but thi~iki~lg tcit11 elllotior1 about self and others that sti~nr~lates arly social r~ntl~~ntaridi~lg. This is one rrason wlty in our strrtlies (see T l r o ~ ~ ~ p s o ~ ~ r3t ill. 2003) as \veil as otlic~rs (Lagatiuta & \Vel~man 2002), relatio~lal influences are especially allparent in childre~i's corwersations about ancl couiprelre~~sion of rt~'gnticc e~notional eve~its. Constraint artd cooperation are bcltl~ conceptrrdly provocative esperierlces for young children. In stun, emotion is often salient to the activity that contributes to social understanclirig. In ~ r l y childhood, Inoreover, conversation about these experiences wit11 a11 iadi~lt wlro elaborates tlre child's direct expericncc, in the contest of' a wann, secure relatio~~sliip, provides a rich basis for the child's construction of social understanding. This social constructionist view provides provocative opportullities to integrate the focus on norrilative development, emphasized by students of early conceptual growth, wit11 the focus 011 inrlividull clifft~re~ices emplrasixed by st~~cler~ts of early sociopersonality developmel~t. BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES (2004) 27:l 127