Infants’ understanding of their social world
Introduction
Researchers have long been interested in whether infants have a rich or poor understanding of their social world. Here, we consider just one side of this debate and draw on a wide range of research which argues that infants’ have a rich understanding. You will have the opportunity to read research articles which explore such issues as the degree to which infants contribute to social interactions, whether or not they are born communicators, and whether their relations with people emerge out of intimate social interaction. These readings are supported by audio clips of interviews with researchers. You will be given the opportunity to reflect upon the research and critique the findings and to think about your own views, based upon your own experiences of children you know.
This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University module ED841: Understanding children’s development and learning [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .
This is a Masters-level course and you may find that some of the readings are challenging. We suggest that you carry out the audio-visual activities as these are intended to bring the readings to life.