METACOGNITION AND THEORIES OF THE MIND

In the present overview of research on certain aspects of psychologica l functioning (such as language, perception, explanation of actions, a ppearance/reality, etc.), the development of children's representation s of the mental functioning of human beings is described. Children at a very early age appear to have already acquired knowledge about the h uman mind and constructed representations of it. These allow them to d ifferentiate between mental and physical entities, attribute various m ental states to human beings, and explain human actions in terms of me ntal states such as desires and beliefs, etc. However, at approximatel y 5 years old, important qualitative changes take place in the represe ntation children have of mental life. Their prior conception of the hu man mind as a reservoir of mental states (resulting from direct contac t with reality) is replaced by a conception of the mind as a mediator and, thus, a generator of mental states.