‘You can cry, mum’: The social and developmental implications of talk about internal states

The social processes implicated in the early development of children's talk about desires, feelings and mental states were studied by analysing the content and pragmatic context of naturally occurring conversations at home. Six second‐born children were observed with their mothers and older siblings at two‐month intervals from 24 to 36 months. In addition to increases in the frequency with which children referred to internal states, developmental changes were noted in the content and context of their talk. These included: more frequent references to others' inner states, increased use of inner state turns in reflective discussions and in efforts to manipulate the feelings and behaviour of others, and more frequent references to the causes and consequences of inner states. Parallel changes were noted in mothers' conversations about inner states; maternal references to the thoughts, feelings and desires of those other than the child increased, and their use of these terms in behaviour‐controlling contexts decreased. Results highlight the role of social interaction in children's developing understanding of inner states.