The Dynamics of Inhibition in Social Cognitive Development

Brown University, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

This project will investigate the role of distinct mechanisms for inhibition on children's developing social cognition, specifically focused on their understanding of others' mental states, their trust in others' knowledge, and their understanding of fairness. In addition to enhancing knowledge about how specific mechanisms of inhibition develop, the project will address long-standing debates in social cognition regarding the role of inhibition in development. Isolating the role of different inhibitory processes in children's social judgment specifies the mechanisms through which children develop social cognitive knowledge, and cognitive development more generally. Understanding how these processes unfold also applies to real-world practice. By examining how children understand others' mental states, the researchers will be able to provide a framework for describing how children resolve conflicts with others. By examining how children develop concepts of fairness, the researchers will be able to identify factors contributing to cooperation and moral development. These findings have the potential to impact curriculum design and interventions designed to promote social cognitive development. This project uses a technique called reach trajectory tracking (RTT), which measures how children engage in reaching behaviors in response to scenes shown to them on a screen. Different mechanisms of inhibitory control are reflected by the speed and trajectory of children's reaching responses. Three lines of research in social cognition will be addressed: children's theory of mind, selective social learning, and prosocial behavior. Each line of research targets the developmental trajectory of a social-cognitive process and discerns the role of distinct inhibitory processes in that development. In this way, the research team can articulate ways in which children's social cognition develops and what role inhibition plays in this development. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.