Sarah-Jayne Blakemore(2010)
The Developing Brain: Implications for Education
Neuron, 65, 6, 744-747
P2 ‘ We are constantly reading each others’ actions, gestures and faces in terms of underlying mental states and emotions, in an attempt to figure out what other people are thinking and feeling, and what they are about to do next’
Age 4 ‘ children begin explicitly to understand that others can hold a belief that is different from their own’
Refers to Kuhl work on language learning and video
P3
‘ What is so special about social interaction with a real person is not yet understood. One possibility is that social interaction increases infants’ motivation through enhanced attention and arousal. Social interaction also directs the adult trainer to focus on the learner’s individual needs and tailors the training content for the learner. In addition, by nine months, infants start to understand that pointing to, or looking in the direction of an object indicates that this object is being referred to (KRO Multi modality). This is one of the first building blocks of theory of mind’
examples of mentalizing
· understanding irony ( separating the literal from the intended meaning)
· thinking about ones own intentions
· thinking about social emotions such as guilt and embarrassment
We need to ask whether online social networking, which is particularly important with teenagers, is the same as real live interaction, or whether it might be denying the developing brain of important real-life interactions. There is yet no research on this important question. What is the critical factor in social interaction that is so evidently missing from video conferencing, and which makes it incomparable to a meeting with real people? Being able to ascertain whether or not involuntary emotional expression occurs and if so when is a critical piece of evidence for this debate.’
