ABSTRACT
P eople’s capacity to recognize a behavior as intentional is a central component of human social cognition. This capacity has evolved for its adaptive value in social interaction, and it develops rapidly in the early years of life (Malle, Moses, & Baldwin, 2001; Zelazo, Astington, & Olson, 1999). Furthermore, the intentionality concept is part of folk psychology, the larger conceptual and cognitive system that allows people to make sense of human behavior in terms of mental states. In this system, intentionality plays a pivotal role because it directly connects behavior with mind, classifying actions as intentional when they are caused by certain characteristic mental states such as belief, intention, and awareness.
