THE PROBLEM OF THE OTHER IN RESEARCH ON THEORY OF MIND AND SOCIAL-DEVELOPMENT

Comparison of research on theory of mind and research on social develo pment yields divergent conclusions regarding young children's awarenes s of the nature of the internal states of others. This divergence part ially reflects methodological differences between the two paradigms, b ut also more fundamental differences in researchers' framing of the pr oblem of understanding others' mental states as either an intrapsychic or an interpersonal process, carried out by either a single or a soci al mind. through mental or communicative activities. It is argued that children's understandings of how the inner experiences of real others can predict their actions or how these inner experiences can be acted on are distinct from children's conceptions of 'mind' in the abstract .