Social development in early childhood Module 7

Theory of Mind, anti-social Behavior

1. SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
IN EARLY
CHILDHOOD Presentation by Blaise Esteves

2. SUB-TOPICS
Theory of Mind in Early
Childhood
Moral Judgement
Prosocial and Antisocial
Behavior
Friendship and Play
TV and Media Use in Early
Childhood

3. THEORY OF MIND
the ability to attribute mental
states (beliefs, desires,
intentions, knowledge) to
oneself and to others, and to
understand that others’ mental
states may differ from reality
and from one’s own.
IT IS A CORE FOUNDATION OF HUMAN
SOCIAL COGNITION. “HANNES
RACOKZY”

4. RAKOCZY HIGHLIGHTS
SEVERAL KEY
INFLUENCES
Language development → especially
“mental state talk” with caregivers.
Executive functions → memory, inhibition,
and cognitive flexibility support
perspective-taking.
Social interaction → siblings, peers, and
parent-child conversations accelerate ToM
growth.
Culture → emphasis on social relationships
or independence shapes how and when
ToM is expressed.

5. AGE MILESTONE
Infancy (0–2 years)
Early precursors of ToM appear:
Joint attention (~12 months): infants follow gaze/pointing.
Imitation: infants interpret actions as goal-directed.
Pretend play (~18–24 months): begin to represent objects/events symbolically.
These show sensitivity to others’ intentions but not yet full ToM.
Toddlerhood & Early Preschool (2–3 years)
Children recognize that others have different desires and perspectives.
Start to use mental state vocabulary (“want,” “think”).
Still struggle with understanding false beliefs.
Preschool (3–5 years)
Critical transition: children pass false-belief tasks (around 4–5).
This shows awareness that someone can hold a belief that is incorrect, and act according to it.
Full explicit ToM emerges, allowing advanced perspective-taking.

7. Implicit ToM: Infants seem to show
sensitivity to others’ beliefs in
nonverbal tasks (eye-tracking).
Explicit ToM: Preschoolers
demonstrate ToM verbally through
reasoning tasks.
Debate: Are early signs real ToM
or just precursors?
IMPLICIT VS EXPLICIT

8. EDUCATIONAL
RELEVANCE
ToM is crucial for empathy,
cooperation, communication,
and conflict resolution.
Understanding ToM foundations
helps teachers design activities
that foster perspective-taking
and social cognition in
classrooms.

9. MORAL JUDGEMENT

10. the process of evaluating an action, decision, or
situation as right or wrong, good or bad, based on
ethical standards and personal values.
MORAL JUDGEMENT

11. HOW HONESTY DEVELOPS & MORAL
JUDGMENT RELATED TO HONESTY
Honesty is a learned behavior. Children don’t always understand what
honesty means initially; they often lie or bend truth because of simple
situations, not malicious intent.
As children grow, they begin to understand why honesty matters—trust,
relationships, fairness. This shift is part of moral judgment: not just
knowing what is right vs wrong, but valuing truthfulness.
The author points out that simply punishing dishonesty is less effective
than helping children understand the reasons behind honesty (empathy,
integrity, effects on others).

12. WHAT HELPS PROMOTE HONESTY / MORAL
JUDGMENT
VICTORIA TALWAR SUGGESTS THREE KEY STEPS PARENTS (AND BY
EXTENSION, TEACHERS) CAN TAKE TO NURTURE HONESTY:
1. Talk about honesty
Conversations about what honesty is, why it is important.
Use calm moments (not just after misbehavior) to discuss honesty.
Use examples and stories (fictional or real).
2. Acknowledge when you or others tell the truth even when it’s hard
Modeling honesty: if the teacher or adult admits mistakes or tells
the truth in difficult situations, children see honesty as valuable.
Praise honest behavior explicitly: when a child is honest, especially
in situations where it might have been tempting to lie.
3. Create opportunities for children to practice honesty ethically
Discuss dilemmas or hypothetical situations: “What would you do
if…” kind of questions to encourage moral reasoning.
Encourage reflection: asking how someone might feel or what
consequences truth vs lie have.

13. CLASSROOM / EDUCATIONAL
IMPLICATION
Classroom / Educational Implications
Use stories or literature that illustrate honesty, especially where characters admit
mistakes or do the right thing at personal cost.
Incorporate discussions after stories or events in class: What would you have done?
Why? What happens when someone lies vs tells truth?
Praise honesty in class, especially when students admit mistakes or truth telling is
difficult.
Model honesty yourself: if a teacher makes a mistake or is honest in vulnerable
situations, that sets a powerful example.
Build classroom norms around truth, trust, respect — make honesty a shared value.

14. PRO-SOCIAL AND ANTI-SOCIAL
BEHAVIOR

15. ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
Antisocial behavior in children and adolescents generally refers to actions
that violate social norms, rules, or the rights of others. Some types include:
Aggression: physical (hitting, pushing, biting), verbal (name-calling,
threats), relational (excluding, spreading rumors)
Bullying: repeated aggressive behavior, imbalance of power between
bully and victim
Delinquency / Rule Violations: stealing, lying, vandalism or breaking
school rules or societal norms
Moral Disengagement-driven behaviors: where children justify harmful
actions, dehumanize or blame victims, displace responsibility, etc.

16. HOW CLASSROOM CLIMATE &
TEACHING STYLE RELATE
From the source Autonomy-Supportive Teaching …:
Autonomy-supportive teaching (teachers giving students choice, listening
to them, encouraging self-initiative) leads to more prosocial behavior and
less antisocial behavior among students.
Positive classroom climate and fulfillment of psychological needs (for
autonomy, competence, relatedness) are mechanisms through which such
behavior change happens.
On the contrary, classrooms that are hierarchical or excessively
controlling tend to increase frustration and antisocial behavior.

17. ROLE OF PLAY IN DEVELOPMENT

18. 1.Cognitive / Thinking Skills
Play helps children explore, experiment, test ideas. Through pretend play,
manipulating objects, exploring materials they learn cause-and-effect, spatial
concepts, logic.
2.Language & Communication
In play children use new vocabulary, tell stories, negotiate with peers (“you
be the doctor, I’ll be patient”), explain what they’re doing. Hearing and using
language in context.
3.Social Skills / Friendship Building
When kids play together they practice sharing, turn-taking, negotiating rules,
resolving conflicts, understanding other perspectives, building friendships.
4.Emotional Development
Play gives a safe space to express feelings, manage frustration (e.g. when
something doesn’t work out), experiment with roles (pretending to be parent,
hero etc.), work through fears or anxiety. Helps self-regulation.
5.Physical Development
Active play (running, climbing, jumping) develops gross motor skills; fine
motor skills improved through building, drawing, manipulating small objects.
6.Creativity & Imagination
Pretend play, imaginative and symbolic play help children think flexibly,
imagine alternative worlds or scenarios, experiment, innovate.
ROLE OF PLAY IN DEVELOPMENT

19. Free Play: Child leads, adult
minimal role, open exploration
Guided Play: Child explores,
adult scaffolds with
prompts/questions
Games: Rule-based, structured,
teacher sets clear learning
goals
TYPES OF PLAYFUL LEARNING

20. Free Play: Children create a palengke
(market) setup with toy fruits, vegetables,
and play money. They practice pretend
buying and selling.
Guided Play: Teacher encourages kids to
count mangga (mangoes) or group by
color/size, connecting math to daily life.
Games: A local board game adaptation,
like “Patintero Math Race,” where children
move pieces after solving simple addition
or subtraction problems.
TYPES OF PLAYFUL LEARNING

21. TV AND MEDIA USE IN EARLY
CHILDHOOD

22. Prosocial Media Content:
Exposure to media that features positive, helpful, and
prosocial behavior can support children in developing
more accepting attitudes toward others. For example,
watching programs where characters help each other,
work together, or show kindness can foster empathy
and cooperation in young children.
Educational Programs:
Well-designed educational and age-appropriate
programs can support learning, vocabulary, social
understanding, and cognitive growth. Media used in
moderation, with quality content, can contribute to
skills such as early literacy, number sense, and social
skills. POSITIVE INFLUENCES OF MEDIA IN
EARLY CHILDHOOD

23. Media Violence and Aggressive Behavior:
A large body of research shows that heavy exposure to
violent content in media (TV shows, video games, etc.)
is associated with increases in aggressive behavior.
Children who frequently watch violent media are more
likely to imitate aggressive acts, show physical
aggression, or become desensitized to violence.
Attention & Executive Function Problems:
Well-designed educational and age-appropriate
programs can support learning, vocabulary, social
understanding, and cognitive growth. Media used in
moderation, with quality content, can contribute to
skills such as early literacy, number sense, and social
skills.
NEGATIVE INFLUENCES OF MEDIA
IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

24. Modeling Perceived Norms:
A large body of research shows that heavy exposure to
violent content in media (TV shows, video games, etc.)
is associated with increases in aggressive behavior.
Children who frequently watch violent media are more
likely to imitate aggressive acts, show physical
aggression, or become desensitized to violence.
Desensitization:
Repeated exposure to violence can reduce emotional
sensitivity (e.g. less empathy), making children less
responsive to violence in real life. This can lead them
to accept or even expect aggressive behavior.
NEGATIVE INFLUENCES OF MEDIA
IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

25. Amount of Screen Time Matters:
More hours of screen exposure are linked with greater
negative effects. It’s not just what is watched, but how
much and in what context.
Quality & Content Context:
Educational, prosocial, slow-paced or interactive
content is generally better. Violent, fast-paced, or
purely entertainment content with little constructive
dialogue tends to carry more risk.
Parental Mediation & Co-Viewing:
Children fare better when parents/caregivers watch
media with them, discuss content, set limits, and help
them understand what they see. This helps them
interpret aggressive behavior, understand
consequences, and distinguish between fantasy and
reality.
OTHER RELEVANT EFFECTS &
CONTEXTUAL FACTORS

26. Using this info, here are strategies to help students and reduce aggression in
relation to media exposure:
Choose media content carefully for classroom (videos, games). Prefer those with
positive social behavior, cooperation, problem resolution without violence.
Limit screen media usage in classroom settings; use short, purposeful segments
rather than prolonged viewing.
Discuss media content: after showing a video or playing a game, have discussion:
What did you see? Was the behavior good or bad? What could they have done
differently?
Teach children critical thinking about media: help them distinguish fantasy vs
reality, understand motives of characters, consequences of actions.
Model behavior: teachers avoid using aggressive or punitive video examples, set
tone of respect.
Encourage alternative activities when not using screens: play, physical activity,
hands-on learning that build self-regulation, empathy, collaboration.
IMPLICATIONS FOR CLASSROOM /
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO

27. THANK YOU!
If you have any
questions ask the next
reporter.