Uses an analysis of children's interpretations of a complex episode of social interaction to illustrate three features that distinguish them from robot plans and that form a basis for a theory of the development of social action: human plans (1) are social, (2) operate on interpretations, and (3) are used, not just executed. (FL)

The paper discusses some of the "belief systems knowledge" used in language understanding. It begins with a presentation of a theory of personal causation. The theory supplies the tools to account for purposeful behavior. Using primitives of the theory, the social aspect of an action can be described. The social aspect is that which depends on…