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16.2: What is Social Development?

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  • Page ID
    140962

    • Amanda Taintor
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    Defining Social Development

    In childhood, social development emerges through social influences, biological maturation, and the child's representations of the social world and the self. Understanding social development requires looking at children from 3 perspectives that interact to shape development. The first is the social context where each child lives, especially the relationships that provide security, guidance, and knowledge. The second is biological maturation which includes developing social and emotional competencies and underlying differences of individual temperament. The third is a child's growing representations of who they are and the social world around them. Social development is best understood as the continuous interaction between these social, biological, and representational aspects of psychological development.[1]

    Two toddlers holding hands walking across bridge
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Social Development is an important part of forming peer relationships. ([2])

    [1] Thompson, R. (2022). Social and personality development in childhood Is licensed CC BY-NC-SA

    [2] Image by @pixabay is in the public domain

    This page titled 16.2: What is Social Development? is shared under a mixed 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Amanda Taintor.