scholarly journals Social Cognition in Preschoolers: Effects of Early Experience and Individual Differences

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Bulgarelli ◽  
Paola Molina
1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 416-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giyoo Hatano

Although Howe et al.'s survey shows little evidence for the talent account, it is premature to conclude that individual differences in achievement can be attributed largely to training and early experience. Moreover, such an empiricist account has problematic social implications, especially in cultures in which effort is emphasized. The aptitude account is thus proposed as a third alternative.


2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 155-173
Author(s):  
Joona Taipale

SummaryThis article examines the foundations of social experience from a psychoanalytic perspective. In current developmental psychology, social cognition debate, and phenomenology of empathy, it is widely assumed that the self and the other are differentiated from the outset, and the basic challenge is accordingly taken to consist in explaining how the gap between the self and the other can be bridged. By contrast, in the psychoanalytic tradition, the central task is considered to lie in explaining how such a gap is established in the first place. My article develops this latter idea. I focus on the infant’s early experience of care, show how the presence of the caregiver can be interpreted in terms of an interoceptive experience, illustrate the gradual self/other differentiation from this perspective, and thus argue that the other is granted ‘otherness’ gradually. By emphasising this graduality, I challenge the assumption that self/other differentiation dominates the infant’s life from the outset. In this manner, I show how the psychoanalytic theory may be used in contesting one of the cornerstones of the current research paradigm.


1994 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 741-758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Davidson

AbstractA model of asymmetric contributions to the control of different subcomponents of approach- and withdrawal-related emotion and psychopathology is presented. Two major forms of positive affect are distinguished. An approach-related form arises prior to goal attainment, and another form follows goal attainment. The former is hypothesized to be associated with activation of the left prefrontal cortex. Individual differences in patterns of prefrontal activation are stable over time. Hypoactivation in this region is proposed to result in approach-related deficits and increase an individual's vulnerability to depression. Data in support of these proposals are presented. The issue of plasticity is then considered from several perspectives. Contextual factors are superimposed upon tonic individual differences and modulate the magnitude of asymmetry. Pharmacological challenges also alter patterns of frontal asymmetry. A diverse array of evidence was then reviewed that lends support to the notion that these patterns of asymmetry may be importantly influenced by early environmental factors that result in enduring changes in brain function and structure.


2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Perugini ◽  
Andrew Prestwich

A basic assumption in mainstream social cognition is that the path from perception to behaviour is often automatic and direct, as supported for example by several experimental studies showing that priming can lead directly to a congruent behaviour without any need of conscious awareness of the process. However, we argue that the priming of a goal or an object activates individual differences in automatic evaluations at the associative level that in turn are the key predictors of action (gatekeeper model). A study (n = 90) on the American stereotype is presented to support the model. The results show that individual differences of the American stereotype as assessed with the IAT predicts a relevant action (essay evaluation) but only under condition of priming. Broader implications for predictive validity of implicit measures are also discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan R. Gunnar

This review provides a broad overview of my research group’s work on social buffering in human development in the context of the field. Much of the focus is on social buffering of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system, one of the two major arms of the mammalian stress system. This focus reflects the centrality of the HPA system in research on social buffering in the fields of developmental psychobiology and developmental science. However, buffering of the cardiovascular and autonomic nervous system is also discussed. The central developmental question in this area derives from attachment theory, which argues that the infant’s experience of stress and arousal regulation in the context of her early attachment relationships is not an immature form of social buffering experienced in adulthood but rather the foundation out of which individual differences in the capacity to gain stress relief from social partners emerges. The emergence of social buffering in infancy, changes in social buffering throughout childhood and adolescence, the influence of early experience on later individual differences in social buffering, and critical gaps in our knowledge are described.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Jenny Xiao ◽  
Jay Joseph Van Bavel

In this research, we examine how sudden shifts in social identity can swiftly shape implicit evaluations. According to dual system models of attitudes, implicit attitude change is often slow and insensitive to explicit cues or goals. However, the social identity approach suggests that the intergroup context can shape nearly every aspect of social cognition from explicit preferences to implicit evaluations. In three experiments, we test whether explicit cues about social identity and the intergroup context can swiftly shape implicit evaluations. We find that people quickly develop an implicit preference favoring their in-group relative to the out-group—even when the group assignments are arbitrary. Importantly, this pattern of implicit intergroup bias quickly shifts following subtle changes in the intergroup context. When we frame the two groups as cooperative (vs. competitive), implicit intergroup bias is eliminated. Finally, being switched from one minimal group to the other reverses implicit intergroup bias, leading people to favor their new in-group (and former out-group). Individual differences in the degree to which people readily switch their implicit intergroup preference are correlated with their need to belong. In sum, these studies provide evidence that social identity cues and goals rapidly tune implicit evaluation. This research not only speaks to the influence of social identity on implicit cognition, but also has implications for models of attitude development and change.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Shaw ◽  
Kristina Czekoova ◽  
Charlotte Rebecca Pennington ◽  
Adam Qureshi ◽  
Beáta Špiláková ◽  
...  

This study investigated the structure of social cognition, and how it is influenced by personality; specifically, how various socio-cognitive capabilities, and the pattern of inter-relationships and co-dependencies among them differ between divergent personality styles. To measure social cognition, a large non-clinical sample (n = 290) undertook an extensive battery of self-report and performance-based measures of visual perspective taking, imitative tendencies, affective empathy, interoceptive accuracy, emotion regulation, and state affectivity. These same individuals then completed the Personality Styles and Disorders Inventory. Latent Profile Analysis revealed two dissociable personality profiles that exhibited contrasting cognitive and affective dispositions, and multivariate analyses indicated further that these profiles differed on measures of social cognition; individuals characterised by a flexible and adaptive personality profile expressed higher action orientation (emotion regulation) compared to those showing more inflexible tendencies, along with better visual perspective taking, superior interoceptive accuracy, less imitative tendencies, and lower personal distress and negativity. These characteristics point towards more efficient self-other distinction, and to higher cognitive control more generally. Moreover, low-level cognitive mechanisms served to mediate other higher level socio-emotional capabilities. Together, these findings elucidate the cognitive and affective underpinnings of individual differences in social behaviour, providing a data-driven model that should guide future research in this area.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document