Cognitive And Social Factors In Early Deception

The understanding of early deception is important for both theoretical and practical purposes. Children's deceptive behaviors provide a window into their models and theories of mind. On a practical level, childhood deception poses challenges for the legal system as well as parents and schools. In this volume, contributors from diverse areas of psychology -- social, cognitive, and developmental -- as well as philosophy and law examine the determinants of deception among preschoolers. In addition to a wealth of new empirical findings dealing with gender, motivation, and context in children's use of deception, evidence is provided for recursivity of awareness in children as young as three years of age. With chapters and commentaries written by leading scholars in the United States, England, and Australia, this book reflects a growing concern with ecological validity in developmental studies and may prompt rethinking of traditional models of mind based exclusively on data from laboratory experiments.

The understanding of early deception is important for both theoretical and practical purposes. Children's deceptive behaviors provide a window into their models and theories of mind. On a practical level, childhood deception poses challenges for the legal system as well as parents and schools. In this volume, contributors from diverse areas of psychology -- social, cognitive, and developmental -- as well as philosophy and law examine the determinants of deception among preschoolers. In addition to a wealth of new empirical findings dealing with gender, motivation, and context in children's use of deception, evidence is provided for recursivity of awareness in children as young as three years of age. With chapters and commentaries written by leading scholars in the United States, England, and Australia, this book reflects a growing concern with ecological validity in developmental studies and may prompt rethinking of traditional models of mind based exclusively on data from laboratory experiments.

In this trailblazing collection of essays on free will and the human mind, distinguished philosopher Owen Flanagan seeks to reconcile a scientific view of ourselves with an account of ourselves as meaning makers and agents of free will. He approaches this old philosophical quagmire from new angles, bringing to it the latest insights of neuroscience, cognitive science, and psychiatry. Covering a host of topics, these essays discuss whether the conscious mind can be explained scientifically, whether dreams are self-expressive or just noise, the moral socialization of children, and the nature of psychological phenomena. Ultimately, Flanagan concludes that a naturalistic view of the self need not lead to nihilism, but rather to a liberating vision of personal identity which makes sense of agency, character transformation, and the value and worth of human life.

Human beings have the unique ability to consciously reflect on the nature of the self. But reflection has its costs. We can ask what the self is, but as David Hume pointed out, the self, once reflected upon, may be nowhere to be found. The favored view is that we are material beings living in the material world. But if so, a host of destabilizing questions surface. If persons are just a sophisticated sort of animal, then what sense is there to the idea that we are free agents who control our own destinies? What makes the life of any animal, even one as sophisticated as Homo sapiens, worth anything? What place is there in a material world for God? And if there is no place for a God, then what hold can morality possibly have on us--why isn't everything allowed? Flanagan's collection of essays takes on these questions and more. He continues the old philosophical project of reconciling a scientific view of ourselves with a view of ourselves as agents of free will and meaning-makers. But to this project he brings the latest insights of neuroscience, cognitive science, and psychiatry, exploring topics such as whether the conscious mind can be explained scientifically, whether dreams are self-expressive or just noise, the moral socialization of children, and the nature of psychological phenomena such as multiple personality disorder and false memory syndrome. What emerges from these explorations is a liberating vision which can make sense of the self, agency, character transformation, and the value and worth of human life. Flanagan concludes that nothing about a scientific view of persons must lead to nihilism.

Why are humans so clever? The 'Social intelligence' hypothesis explores the idea that this cleverness has evolved through the increasing complexity of social groups. Our ability to understand and control nature is a by-product of our ability to understand the mental states of others and to use this knowledge to co-operate or deceive. These abilities have not emerged out of the blue. They can be found in many social animals that co-operate and compete with one another, birds as well as mammals. This book brings together contributions from an impressive list of authorities in the field, appropriately concluding with a chapter by Nick Humphrey (one of the pioneers in this field). This volume examines social intelligence in many different animal species and explores its development, evolution and the brain systems upon which it depends. Better understanding and further development of social intelligence is critical for the future of the human race and the world that we inhabit. Our problems will not be solved by mere cleverness, but by increased social co-operation.

Children's Testimony offers a comprehensive and up-to-dateassessment of issues relating to children's evidence. Starting withpsychological underpinnings and child protection considerations,the reader is taken through a clearly structured and timelycollection of chapters from internationally renownedcontributors. Pointers for practitioners are clearly highlighted throughout and aunique, jargon-free glossary of psychological terms encountered inchild witness research is included making this a highly practicaltext. * An accessible review of existing knowledge and preview of new andrecent developments in psychological research and forensicpractice * An outstanding group of international contributors * Offers a broad scope that considers all the key areas of researchand practice

This book presents the complete collection of peer-reviewed presentations at the 1999 Cognitive Science Society meeting, including papers, poster abstracts, and descriptions of conference symposia. For students and researchers in all areas of cognitive science.