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Developmental Psychology Essay

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Describe how developmental psychologists determine whether infants have a sense of self. Then discuss how the "theory of mind" is related to one 's sense of self.

Developmental psychologists determine when a baby has a sense of self by placing the baby in front of a mirror. The baby’s reaction shows the psychologist if the baby is self-aware. If the baby does not recognize themselves in the mirror they will wave at the reflection, or touch the face in the mirror. However, if a red mark is placed on the baby’s face, and then he looks in the mirror, and wipes away the mark the psychologist knows the baby is self-aware. The baby is capable of seeing the image as a reflection of himself, and not another person. This change is apparent …show more content…

As the child develops their language and they have more social interaction, there is an increased level of the child’s sense of self. This understanding comes from the baby observing other people perform tasks to achieve a goal. For example, a toddler observes their parent saying “I’m hungry”, and then the parent gets a cookie. The child can recognize the thought led to an action. By age 2 toddlers are aware that people have desires by recognizing phrases like “I wanna sit”, and “lemme see”. Autism is a severe disorder beginning in childhood where the child is unable to recognize social cues, those effected are disinterested in others, and have limited social skills. It appears that they are unable to understand other people’s mental states, and this results in a child lagging behind others in social situations. By age 4, children recognize that people have thoughts and beliefs, and these thoughts shape their behavior. As language develops the “theory of mind” reflects stronger in the child, as the child becomes capable of speaking “think”, “know”, and “believe”. A child’s self-concept grows rapidly at this time, as they become aware of similarities and differences in other people’s mental states. A sense of self is strongly related to the advancements of the “theory of mind”. As the child ages, his mind becomes

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