Social Signals and Sense of Autonomy Jointly Modulate Learning in Children

Both social and autonomous learning have been extensively studied in developmental science; nevertheless, questions remain about their relationship and when and how the two processes can work together. In this review, we first introduce the concepts of social and autonomous learning and then present findings about their relationship through the lens of a two-dimensional framework that considers the presence of social signals and the sense of autonomy as separate dimensions. We then discuss how the interaction of these two types of learning processes aids children in acquiring veridical and socially shared knowledge. These claims are discussed with regard to how the contribution of the two processes manifests in informal and formal contexts, such as play, innovation, and education, and their potential implications for future research.