Skip to main content
4: Social and Emotional Development in Infants and Toddlers (Birth to Age 3)
-
-
Last updated
-
-
Save as PDF
-
-
-
4.0: What Does Psychology Say?
-
The page describes the challenges and anxieties faced by new parents, Sarah and Amelia, as they care for their fussy eight-week-old baby, Asher. Amidst sleep deprivation, they experience conflicting advice from family and sources regarding childcare practices, such as whether picking up a crying baby spoils them, gender preferences in toys, the impact of screen time on infants, and the choice between daycare and home care. The chapter aims to address these concerns with current research.
-
-
4.1: Autonomy and Sense of Self in Infants and Toddlers
-
This section discusses early childhood development focused on autonomy, self-awareness, and gender identity. It explores how infants like Elyse begin to show independence and recognize themselves as separate beings from others. It highlights the mirror test as a measure of self-recognition. The text also delves into how gender identity starts forming early, influenced by cultural and societal gender stereotypes through interactions, toys, and media.
-
-
4.2: Temperament and Personality in Infants and Toddlers
-
This section covers the distinction between temperament and personality, highlighting different models of temperament and their characteristics. It discusses the environmental influences on temperament and the role of parenting in shaping a child's development. The theories of Thomas and Chess categorize infant temperament into easy, difficult, and slow-to-warm-up types, while Rothbart introduces surgency, negative affectivity, and effortful control.
-
-
4.3: Emotional Development in Infants and Toddlers
-
This section explores the development of emotions in early childhood, highlighting the relationship between emotions, mood, and emotion regulation. It differentiates between primary emotions, which are inherent and expressible through universal facial expressions like joy and sadness, and secondary emotions, which involve a sense of self, such as pride and jealousy.
-
-
4.4: Social Development in Infants and Toddlers
-
This section provides a comprehensive overview of social development in infancy and toddlerhood, focusing on attachment theory and styles, as well as cultural variations in attachment. It outlines key milestones such as social smiles, imitation, joint attention, and social referencing, which facilitate emotional and cognitive growth. The development of attachment styles, including secure, avoidant, ambivalent, and disorganized, is discussed alongside influential research by Bowlby and Ainsworth.
-
-
4.5: Social Contexts and Influences in Infants and Toddlers
-
This section discusses the contexts and variations in social and emotional development in infancy and toddlerhood, focusing on family and community influences. It highlights diverse family structures, child-rearing practices, and caregiving scenarios, including socio-economic and cultural factors. It also explains the ecological systems model by Bronfenbrenner, detailing the layers affecting child development.
-
-
4.6: Key Terms
-
-
-
4.7: Summary
-
-
-
4.8: Review Questions
-
-
-
4.9: Check Your Understanding Questions
-
-
-
4.10: Personal Application Questions
-
-
-
4.11: Essay Questions
-