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‘You be the big sister’: Maternal‐preschooler internal state discourse, perspective‐taking, and sibling caretaking
Author(s) -
Howe Nina,
Rinaldi Christina M.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
infant and child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.87
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1522-7219
pISSN - 1522-7227
DOI - 10.1002/icd.350
Subject(s) - psychology , perspective (graphical) , sibling , developmental psychology , perspective taking , reading (process) , sister , social psychology , empathy , linguistics , philosophy , artificial intelligence , sociology , computer science , anthropology
Maternal–preschooler internal state discourse, preschooler perspective‐taking, and sibling caretaking for 32 dyads (preschooler M age=46.4 months, toddlers=14 months) was examined across three contexts varying in emotional demands: (a) naturalistic home observations, (b) mother–preschooler book reading (Parent–Child Affect Communication Task; Zahn‐Waxler, Ridgeway, Denham, Usher and Cole, 1993), and (c) a laboratory maternal separation session. Preschooler perspective‐taking was positively associated with emotional understanding during book reading. However, mothers did not adjust their internal state discourse in any of the three contexts to reflect preschoolers' perspective‐taking skills. Both preschooler internal state language during sibling conflict and maternal leave‐taking discourse were associated with sibling caretaking. Findings are discussed in light of the role of family discourse and dynamics in the development of children's social understanding. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.