Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The ascription of normative mental states is an integral part of the psychology of development and personality. Pragmatic rules for the ascription of mental states are outlined and a distinction is made between direct and counterdefined mental states. According to these rules, counterdefined mental states can only be ascribed to persons in a meaningful way when certain conditions hold. Violations of the rules are called pseudoascriptions. Six counterdefined groups of mental states are discussed: secure, self-confident, authentic, free, intentional and identity. It is argued that certain psycho-social conditions create the need for ascriptions of these mental states, and that pseudoascriptions give rise to Cartesian narratives of the self. The rules for the ascription of counterdefined states has implications for the universality claims of normative descriptions of developmental psychology.

Keywords

consciousness development identity pragmatics self-esteem

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Apter, T. (1997). The confident child. New York: Norton.

Austin, J.L. (1961). Philosophical papers. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Austin, J.L. (1962). Sense and sensibilia. Oxford: Clarendon.

Berger, P. , Berger, B. , & Kellner, H. (1973). The homeless mind. New York: Random House.

Calverley, R.M. , Fischer, K.W. , & Ayoub, C. (1994). Complex splitting of self-representations in sexually abused adolescent girls. Development and Psycho- pathology, 6, 195-213.

Craig, A. (1997). PostModern pluralism and our selves. Theory & Psychology, 7, 505-527.

Dunn, J. , Brown, J. , & Beardsall, L. (1991). Family talk about feeling states and children's later understanding of other's emotions. Developmental Psychology, 27, 445-448.

Giddens, A. (1990). The consequences of modernity. Cambridge: Polity.

Grice, H.P. (1975). Logic and conversation. In P. Cole & J. Morgan (Eds.), Syntax and semantics, Vol. 3. New York: Academic Press.

10.

Harter, S. , Bresnick, S. , Bouchey, H.A. , & Whitesell, N.R. (1997). The development of multiple role-related selves during adolescence. Development and Psycho-pathology, 9, 835-853.

11.

Harter, S. , Marold, D. , Whitesell, N.R. , & Cobbs, G. (1996). A model of the effects of parent and peer support on adolescent false self behavior. Child Development, 67, 360-374.

12.

Hilton, D.J. , & Slugoski, B.R. (1986). Knowledge-based causal attribution: The abnormal conditions focus model. Psychological Review, 93, 75-88.

13.

Marcus, H.R. , & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self. Psychological Review, 98, 224-253.

14.

Mey, J. (1993). Pragmatics. Oxford: Blackwell.

15.

Perner, J. (1991). Understanding the representational mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

16.

Poulsen, A. (1995). Modernity and the upgrading of psychological reflectivity. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 26, 1-20.

17.

Rogoff, B. (1990). Apprenticeship in thinking. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

18.

Rorty, R. (1983). Philosophy and the mirror of nature. Oxford: Blackwell.

19.

Sampson, E.E. (1988). The debate on individualism. American Psychologist, 43, 15-22.

20.

Shweder, R.A. , & Boume, E.J. (1984). Does the concept of a person vary cross-culturally? In R.A. Shweder & R.A. LeVine (Eds.), Culture theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

21.

Slugoski, B.R. , Lalljee, M. , Lamb, R. , & Ginsburg, G.P. (1993). Attribution in conversational context. European Journal of Social Psychology, 23, 219-238.

22.

Snell, B. (1960). The discovery of the mind. New York: Harper.

23.

Sperber, D. , & Wilson, D. (1986). Relevance. Oxford: Blackwell.

24.

Toulmin, S. (1990). Cosmopolis. New York: Macmillan.

25.

Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1963). Springfield, MA: Memfiam.

26.

Wertsch, J.V. (1979). From social interaction to higher psychological processes. Human Development, 22, 1-22.

27.

Wood, D. (1988). How children think and learn. Oxford: Blackwell.

Ascriptions and Pseudoascriptions of Mental States

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References