Shared-Reality Development in Childhood

Many significant changes occur during human childhood, including cognitive, social-cognitive, and socioemotional changes. This article reviews some key phenomena associated with some of these changes and attempts to capture them within a single conceptual umbrella-changes in children's shared realities with others Shared reality is the experience that you have an inner state about something (e.g., a feeling or belief or concern about something) that is shared by others (a person or group). Four phases of shared-reality development are proposed: Phase 1 (6-12 months) shared feelings; Phase 2 (18-24 months) shared practices; Phase 3 (3-5 years) shared self-guides; Phase 4 (9-13 years) shared coordinated roles In each phase, a new way that children interact with and relate to others emerges, and the emergence of each new shared-reality mode has significant self-regulatory and social consequences. These consequences include both major benefits for children and potential costs-trade-offs of being human.