Self- and Social-Regulation: Social Interaction and the Development of Social Understanding and Executive Functions

New research on children's executive functioning and self-regulation has begun to reveal important connections to their developing social understanding (or "theories of mind") and emotional competence. The exact nature of the relations between these aspects of children's social and emotional development is, however, far from being fully understood. Considerable disagreement has emerged, for instance, over the question of whether executive functioning facilitates social-emotional understanding, or vice versa. Recent studies linking the development of children's social understanding with aspects of their interpersonal relationships also raise concerns about the particular role that social interaction plays in the development of executive function. Three key questions currently drive this debate: Does social interaction play a role in the development of executive function or, more generally, self-regulation? If it does play a role, what forms of social interaction facilitate the development of executive function? Do different patterns of interpersonal experience differentially affect the development of self-regulation and social understanding? In this book, the contributors address these questions and explore other emerging theoretical and empirical links between self-regulation, social interaction, and children's psycho-social competence. It will be a valuable resource for student and professional researchers interested in executive function, emotion, and social development.

Bryan Sokol is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at St. Louis University. His research interests include the development of children's social understanding and socio-emotional competence, moral agency, and conceptions of selfhood. He is on the board of directors of the Jean Piaget Society.

Ulrich Müller is Associate Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Victoria. His research focuses on the development of problem solving and social understanding in infants and preschoolers. He is an editor of the Cambridge Companion to Piaget (with Jeremy Carpendale and Les Smith) and associate editor for New Ideas in Psychology.

Jeremy I. M. Carpendale is Professor of Developmental Psychology at Simon Fraser University. His areas of research include social cognitive and moral development. He is author with Charlie Lewis of "How Children Develop Social Understanding" (2006, Blackwell), co-editor of several books including the Cambridge Companion to Piaget and associate editor for New Ideas in Psychology.

Grace Iarocci is Associate Professor of Psychology and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research scholar at Simon Fraser University. Her research focuses on the study of attention and cognition and the relation to social development in typical children and in individuals with developmental disorders. She is also interested in the effects of the child's mal/adaptation on parental and family health and well-being.

Arlene Young is an Associate Professor of psychology at Simon Fraser University and a clinical child psychologist. Her research interests focus on child individual differences, such as, temperament and cognitive biases and parent-child relationships in the development of anxiety disorders. She also publishes in the area of language and learning disorders including individual difference predictors of long-term outcomes and best practice for intervention.