The cost of understanding other people: social cognition predicts young children's sensitivity to criticism.

Background: Individual differences in sensitivity to teacher criticism, and their links with individual differences in social cognition, were examined in 141 young children from diverse family backgrounds.

Methods: Children's sensitivity to teacher criticism was assessed in their first year of school (mean age 5.13 years), using a puppet scenario in which a teacher criticises the child for making an error in school work.

Old friends, new friends: predictors of children's perspective on their friends at school.

Predictors of 5-year-old kindergartners' insights into their friends, and their accounts of liking and conflict with their friends were investigated, with a focus on both the children's and their friends' social understanding during the preschool period, and the quality of their preschool friendships. Seventy children initially studied at 4 years utilizing social cognition tasks and observations of dyadic play with their friends were followed over the transition to school; at school they were interviewed about their friendships and their social understanding was assessed. One group had remained close to their preschool friends, whereas a second group had formed new friendships.