Methodological discussions in the study of the development of shared intentionality in children: A systematic review

Abstract

Research on children's cognitive abilities yielding evidence in support of shared intentionality has greatly increased in recent years. The present article discusses the methodologies used in the field by reviewing research published between 2005 and 2017 whose main topic was shared intentionality. As a result, a distinction between 2 approaches is proposed: those methodologies that are active or require behavioral responses that include infant movement and those that are passive or are based on children's visual or emotional responses. A critical analysis of the use of these methodologies, their implications, and their limitations is presented. Finally, it is proposed that tensions and discussions at the methodological level may be due to theoretical differences regarding the study of the phenomenon.