ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we discuss knowledge in childhood as it is studied by developmental psychology. We begin by providing a historical overview, reviewing developments in the field of infant cognition since Piaget. We offer some critical analyses of the epistemic constructs – knowledge and belief – that borrow from epistemology and suggest that a metacognitive understanding of knowledge may appear earlier in development than an understanding of belief. We conclude by discussing contemporary research in early social cognition that investigates children’s learning decisions in the context of their own knowledge attributions to others.
