ABSTRACT

Young children look at the world with an intelligent eye. The generalised image of the world as a whole, with particular cases of outstanding brutality is related to the nearer and just as real world of fighting and bullying, teasing and lying. For children the moral world, or choices between obedience and disobedience, lying and confession, kindness and cruelty, is one charged with emotions. The ability to master psychomotor skills is paralleled by the understanding of concepts; young children do not merely perform but think about what they do. There are some aspects to the mental life of young children that are different to that of adults. The stress that has been placed on young children’s understanding of falsehood and false beliefs derives from the fascination with outlining their ability to have a theory of mind. Children find themselves in the middle of complex social interactions, about which they have to make judgements.