Children's Understanding of the Stream of Consciousness

Flavell, John H.; Green, Frances L.; Flavell, Eleanor R.

doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1993.tb02916.x

Cited by 69 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Although it is true that some tasks included in the Flavell et al studies were designated as "problems" (e.g., deciding which of two crayons was longer), the mental rotation task and the computer game format in the current study may well have succeeded in promoting more active engagement and mental effort. This difference may be crucial because other work by Flavell and his colleagues (Flavell, Green, & Flavell, 1993) has shown that older children and adults have a solid concept of constant mental activity, but this notion of a "stream of consciousness" is absent or less firmly entrenched in young children. Thus, for older children a salient experience of mental activity may not be necessary in order for them to acknowledge that they have just been thinking.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Young Children's Awareness of Their Mental Activity: The Case of Mental Rotation

Estes¹

1998

Child Development

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From Piaget's early work to current theory of mind research, young children have been characterized as having little or no awareness of their mental activity. This conclusion was reexamined by assessing children's conscious access to visual imagery. Four-year-olds, 6-year-olds, and adults were given a mental rotation task in the form of a computer game, but with no instructions to use mental rotation and no other references to mental activity. During the task, participants were asked to explain how they made their judgments. Reaction time patterns and verbal reports revealed that 6-year-olds were comparable to adults both in their spontaneous use and subjective awareness of mental rotation. Four-year-olds who referred to mental activity to explain their performance had reaction time and error patterns consistent with mental rotation; 4-year-olds who did not refer to mental activity responded randomly. A second study with 5-year-olds produced similar results. This research demonstrates that conscious access to at least 1 type of thinking is present earlier than previously recognized. It also helps to clarify the conditions under which young children will and will not notice and report their mental activity. These findings have implications for competing accounts of children's developing understanding of the mind and for the "imagery debate."

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Young Children's Awareness of Their Mental Activity: The Case of Mental Rotation

Estes¹

1998

Child Development

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“…Between the ages of 9 and 13, children improve in their understanding of the mind’s uncontrollability (Flavell et al 1998). Young adolescents recognize that, when awake, people experience a continuous “stream of consciousness,” even when not engaged in a cognitive task (Flavell, Green, & Flavell 1993). Thus, by about age 13, youth are aware that thoughts sometimes can happen automatically, involuntarily, and with varied controllability (Flavell 1999).…”

Section: Cognitive Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developmental Demands of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression in Children and Adolescents: Cognitive, Social, and Emotional Processes

Garber

Frankel

Herrington

2016

Annu. Rev. Clin. Psychol.

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Although some treatments for depression in children and adolescents have been found to be efficacious, the effects sizes have tended to be modest. Thus, there is considerable room to improve upon existing depression treatments. Some children may respond poorly because they do not yet have the cognitive, social, or emotional maturity needed to understand and apply the skills being taught in therapy. Therefore, treatments for depression may need to be tailored to match children’s ability to both comprehend and implement the therapeutic techniques. This paper outlines the steps needed for such developmental tailoring: (1) specify the skills being taught in depression treatments; (2) identify what cognitive, social, and emotional developmental abilities are needed to attain these skills; (3) describe the normative developmental course of these skills, and how to determine a child’s developmental level; and (4) use this information to design an individualized treatment plan. Possible approaches to intervening include: alter the therapy to meet the child’s level of development, train the child on the skills needed to engage in the therapy, or apply a dynamic assessment approach that integrates evaluation into treatment and measures children’s potential as well as their current abilities.

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“…Children younger than 7 or 8 years do not appear to fully or consistently understand their own or others’ mental states (e.g., Flavell, 2000; Flavell, Green, & Flavell, 1993; Flavell, Green, & Flavell, 1995). For instance, Flavell, Flavell, and Green (2001) assessed the ability of 5-year-olds, 8-year-olds, and adults to explain a sudden change in emotion that had no apparent external cause.…”

Section: Metacognitive Emotion Regulation: Children’s Awareness That mentioning

confidence: 99%

Metacognitive emotion regulation: Children's awareness that changing thoughts and goals can alleviate negative emotions.

Davis

Levine

Lench

et al. 2010

Emotion

141

107

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Metacognitive emotion regulation strategies involve deliberately changing thoughts or goals to alleviate negative emotions. Adults commonly engage in this type of emotion regulation, but little is known about the developmental roots of this ability. Two studies were designed to assess whether 5-and 6-year-old children can generate such strategies and, if so, the types of metacognitive strategies they employ. In Study 1, children described how story protagonists could alleviate negative emotions. In Study 2, children recalled times that they personally had felt sad, angry, and scared, and described how they had regulated their emotions. In contrast to research suggesting that young children cannot use metacognitive regulation strategies, the majority of children in both studies described such strategies. Children were surprisingly sophisticated in their suggestions for how to cope with negative emotions and tailored their regulatory responses to specific emotional situations.

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Children's Understanding of the Stream of Consciousness

Cited by 69 publications

References 16 publications

Young Children's Awareness of Their Mental Activity: The Case of Mental Rotation

Young Children's Awareness of Their Mental Activity: The Case of Mental Rotation

Developmental Demands of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression in Children and Adolescents: Cognitive, Social, and Emotional Processes

Metacognitive emotion regulation: Children's awareness that changing thoughts and goals can alleviate negative emotions.

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