This book provides an overview of recent research presenting conflicting interpretations of children's understanding of the psychology of pretense and describes sociocultural factors which influence children's pretenses. Studies of nonhuman primates provide examples of their pretenses and other simulative activities, explore their representational and imaginative capacities and compare their skills with children. Although the psychological requirements for pretending are controversial, evidence presented in this volume suggests that great apes and even monkeys may share capacities for imagination with children and that children's early pretenses may be less psychological than they appear.
Anthropologists and psychologists from Europe and North America share their findings from observing activities similar to pretense by children and other lesser primates. They consider such topics as developmental and comparative perspectives on pretending as representation, caregiver-child social pretend play, and play and simulation in the evolution of primate societies. Evidence from animals may eventually help establish a psychologically and evolutionarily plausible account of fictive acts of perceiving. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
From the Publisher
"Written in a careful, thought-provoking manner, these papers are well worth the effort required to understand most of them." Choice
ROBERT W. MITCHELL is Professor of Psychology at the Eastern Kentucky University. He is currently interested in exploring the significance of kinesthetic-visual matching in human and animal behavior, experience and self-understanding, and is writing a history of scientific attitudes toward using anthropomorphism to understand animals. Professor Mitchell's previous books include Self-Awareness in Animals and Humans (1994, ISBN 0521441080), edited with S. T. Parker and M. L. Boccia, and The Mentalities of Gorillas and Orangutans (1999, ISBN 0521580277), edited with S. T. Parker and H. L. Miles.
Historical, developmental, and comparative overviews
1
Imaginative animals, pretending children
3
2
A history of pretense in animals and children
23
3
Pretending as representation: a developmental and comparative view
43
II
Pretense and imagination in children
4
Language in pretense during the second year: what it can tell us about "pretending" in pretense and the "know-how" about the mind
59
5
A longitudinal and cross-sectional study of the emergence of the symbolic function in children between 15 and 19 months of age: pretend play, object permanence understanding, and self-recognition
73
6
Caregiver-child social pretend play: what transpires?
91
7
Just through the looking glass: children's understanding of pretense
102
8
Young children's understanding of pretense and other fictional mental states
115
9
Pretend play, metarepresentation and theory of mind
129
10
Replica toys, stories, and a functional theory of mind
142
11
Young children's animal-role pretend play
154
12
Imaginary companions and elaborate fantasy in childhood: discontinuity with nonhuman animals
167
III
Pretense and imagination in primates
13
Pretending in monkeys
183
14
Pretending primates: play and simulation in the evolution of primate societies
196
15
Representational capacities for pretense with scale models and photographs in chimpanzees (pan troglodytes)
210
16
Pretending in free-ranging rehabilitant orangutans
229
17
Seeing with the mind's eye: eye-covering play in orangutans and Japanese macaques
241
18
Possible precursors of pretend play in nonpretend actions of captive gorillas (Gorilla gorilla)
255
19
Pretending culture: social and cognitive features of pretense in apes and humans
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More About This Textbook
Overview
This book provides an overview of recent research presenting conflicting interpretations of children's understanding of the psychology of pretense and describes sociocultural factors which influence children's pretenses. Studies of nonhuman primates provide examples of their pretenses and other simulative activities, explore their representational and imaginative capacities and compare their skills with children. Although the psychological requirements for pretending are controversial, evidence presented in this volume suggests that great apes and even monkeys may share capacities for imagination with children and that children's early pretenses may be less psychological than they appear.
Editorial Reviews
From The Critics
Anthropologists and psychologists from Europe and North America share their findings from observing activities similar to pretense by children and other lesser primates. They consider such topics as developmental and comparative perspectives on pretending as representation, caregiver-child social pretend play, and play and simulation in the evolution of primate societies. Evidence from animals may eventually help establish a psychologically and evolutionarily plausible account of fictive acts of perceiving. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)From the Publisher
"Written in a careful, thought-provoking manner, these papers are well worth the effort required to understand most of them." Choice"This is a stimulating book." Ethology
Product Details
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Meet the Author
ROBERT W. MITCHELL is Professor of Psychology at the Eastern Kentucky University. He is currently interested in exploring the significance of kinesthetic-visual matching in human and animal behavior, experience and self-understanding, and is writing a history of scientific attitudes toward using anthropomorphism to understand animals. Professor Mitchell's previous books include Self-Awareness in Animals and Humans (1994, ISBN 0521441080), edited with S. T. Parker and M. L. Boccia, and The Mentalities of Gorillas and Orangutans (1999, ISBN 0521580277), edited with S. T. Parker and H. L. Miles.
Table of Contents