Publication Date

2000

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. (Master of Arts)

Legacy Department

Department of Psychology

LCSH

Comprehension in children; Social perception in children; Social interaction in children; Interpersonal communication in children; Child psychology

Abstract

The present study investigated children’s comprehension of social misunderstandings. Kindergarten, second-grade, and fourth-grade children were read illustrated stories describing social misunderstandings. Children were asked to infer each story characters’ emotions, interpretations, explanations of interpretations, attributions, motivations, and explanations of the misunderstanding to a third person as well as reality. Results indicated that kindergarten, second, and fourth graders were equally able to infer characters’ emotions, interpretations, and the reality of the situation. However, an agerelated increase was found in children’s ability to (a) identify misinterpretations, (b) explain characters’ interpretations, and (c) predict how a character might explain the misunderstanding to a third person. In sum, older children’s utilization of knowledge of a character’s past interpretations to explain subsequent perceptions suggests a conceptualization of social misunderstandings as cyclical. Such a conceptualization should make them better able to resolve misunderstandings and prevent conflict.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references (pages [59]-64).

Extent

v, 106 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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