Abstract Given the relevance of caregivers' perceptions, cognitions, and emotions about their child's mental states for caregiving behavior and children's development, researchers from multiple theoretical perspectives have developed constructs to assess caregivers' cognitions, resulting in a large but scattered body of literature. In this article, we highlight the conceptual overlap among and uniqueness of six constructs assessing caregivers' cognitions about their child at 36 months and younger: infant intentionality, mental representations, mind‐mindedness, parental embodied mentalizing, parental empathy, and parental reflective functioning. We define constructs, present approaches to measurement, and propose elements of importance that fall under the umbrella of caregivers' cognitions and that may be associated differentially with children's early cognitive and social–emotional development. We conclude with recommendations for researchers aiming to capture caregivers' cognitions about their child's mental states, whether focusing on one of the six reviewed constructs or on specific elements (e.g., awareness of the child's mind or accuracy of caregivers' perceptions of their child) under the umbrella of caregivers' cognitions.

Julia Garon‐Bissonnette

Lauren G. Bailes

Kate Kwasneski

Sarah Lempres

Sydney Takemoto

Lu Li

Julia DeLuca

Virginia C. Salo

Kathryn L. Humphreys

Child Development Perspectives

Child Development Perspectives" mission is to provide accessible, synthetic reports that summarize emerging trends or conclusions within various domains of developmental research, and to encourage multidisciplinary and international dialogue on a variety of topics in the developmental sciences.    Articles in the journal will include reviews, commentary, and groups of papers on a targeted issue. Manuscripts presenting new empirical data are not appropriate for this journal. Articles will be obtained through two sources: author-initiated submissions and invited articles or commentary. Potential contributors who have ideas about a set of three or four papers written from very different perspectives may contact the editor with their ideas for feedback.

The mission of "Child Development Perspectives" is to provide accessible, synthetic reports that summarize emerging trends or conclusions within various domains of developmental research, and to encourage multidisciplinary and international dialogue on a variety of topics in the developmental sciences. Articles in the journal will include reviews, commentary, and groups of papers on targeted issues. Manuscripts presenting new empirical data are not appropriate for this journal. Articles will be obtained through two sources: author-initiated submissions and invited articles or commentary. Potential contributors who have ideas about a set of three or four papers written from very different perspectives may contact the editor for feedback.

《Child Development Perspectives》的使命是提供易于理解的综合报告，概述发展研究各领域的新兴趋势或结论，并鼓励在发展科学的各种主题上进行多学科和国际对话。期刊中的文章将包括综述、评论以及针对特定议题的论文组。提交新实证数据的手稿不适合本期刊。文章将通过两种途径获得：作者主动提交和邀请的文章或评论。潜在的贡献者如果有关于三到四篇从不同视角撰写的论文的想法，可以联系编辑以获取反馈。

Category	Quartile
心理学	1
心理学, 心理学发育	1

Caregivers' cognitions about infants' mental and emotional states

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Journal Info

Category	Quartile
PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL	1