The Evolution and Development of Human Social Cognition

Evolutionary Perspectives on Social Development

“…Although other social primates display impressive social -learning abilities (see, e.g., Bjorklund, Causey, & Periss, 2010 ;Whiten et al, 1999 ), none display theory of mind comparable to humans, and the last two modules in Baron -Cohen ' s theory may be unique to humans. For example, although chimpanzees will point out things to other individuals (Leavens, Hopkins, & Bard, 2005 ), there is no evidence that they engage in shared attention (e.g., Herrmann, Call, Hern á ndez -Lloreda, Hare, & Tomasello, 2007 ;Krachun, Carpenter, Call, & Tomasello, 2009 ;Tomasello & Carpenter, 2005 ).…”

“…For instance, in an extensive battery of cognitive and social cognitive tests, chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ) were shown to have an understanding of the physical world comparable to that of 2.5 -year -old human children; however, the children signifi cantly outperformed the chimps on tests of social cognition (Herrmann et al, 2007 ). Although primates and other mammals may display some forms of empathy toward others (see Preston & de Waal, 2002 ), only humans display cognitive empathy , which involves the ability to take the emotional perspective of another (see Bjorklund et al, 2010 ). Such empathy is the foundation for prosocial behavior.…”

Child-directed action promotes 2-year-olds’ imitation

“…In their endeavor to understand others' actions on objects, children are not typically expected to learn through mere observation. Rather, parents provide support for social learning (Bjorklund, Causey, & Periss, 2010). Teaching -behavior enacted seemingly for the sole purpose of educating another (Caro & Hauser, 1992) -is common.…”

Evolutionary Developmental Psychology

“…Research has demonstrated that preschool children overestimate their memory abilities, their intelligence, and their social standing (see Bjorklund et al, 2010a for a review). This was historically thought of as a handicap, and that children's immature cognitions would eventually develop into functional, accurate, and mature cognitions (Bjorklund, 1997;Bjorklund and Green, 1992).…”