Children who become aware of their own and other people’s emotions, motives, desires, and feelings are better able to understand, describe, and predict people’s mental states – thoughts, wants and feelings.
In turn, these skills help them to:
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Know how to respond to the actions of others.
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Become sensitive to the psychological state of others.
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Engage in empathic, cooperative, and pro-social behaviours (e.g., sharing toys and helping others in need).
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Adopt the perspective of others (e.g., in pretend play).
Beyond these benefits, social cognition skills help children to develop stronger language abilities making them better communicators.
