Social-Social-Emotional Emotional

DevelopmentDevelopmentBirth to OneBirth to One

Social-Emotional Social-Emotional Development:Development:

• A person’s basic disposition.

• The way they interact with others.

• How they show their feelings.

TemperamentTemperament

The tendency to react in a certain way:

partly inherited

prenatal conditions

ease of birth

environment

Characteristics of a baby’s Characteristics of a baby’s temperamenttemperament

• Easy 4 in 10

• Slow to warm up1 in 10

• Difficult 1 in 10

Aspects of Aspects of Social DevelopmentSocial Development

Interacting with others:

Born with tools for social development

Understand social messages

Send signals

Eventually initiate social contact

Learning to TrustLearning to Trust

Erik Erikson – Learning to trust while avoiding mistrust is the social-emotional task of infancy; basis for later feelings toward others.

Two key factors in whether infants learn to trust:

• By having a consistent environment.

• By having their needs met promptly each time.

Meeting psychological needs such as cuddling, loving, playing, and being talked to usually creates happier babies,

…and happier parents, too!

AttachmentThe closeness baby

develops to those who care for them.

Necessary for healthy brain development.

Specific attachment behaviors are closely related to the baby’s mental development.

Infants Express EmotionsInfants Express EmotionsTwo basic responses during first three orfour months:

• distress – shown by crying & muscle tension

• excitement – shown by smiling, cooing, & wiggling the body

By 12 months old, babies express:

• love

• fear

• anxiety

• anger

• jealousy

• joy

• sadness

LOVELOVE• Babies must realize that they are separate from caregivers & others.

• Babies begin to feel & show love and affection to caregivers that make them feel full, clean, & comforted.

• Babies become attached to objects that seem to offer security.

FEARFEAROccurs at around 6 months:• Fear of the unknown.• Fear learned from direct experiences or

teachings.• Affects motor & mental development.

AnxietyAnxiety

Occurs between10 & 12 months:• fear of a possible

future event.• separation anxiety –

babies become anxious when the adults they love must leave them for a time.

AngerAngerOccurs between 8 & 10 months:• Directed toward a person or object.• Expressed in physical ways since they lack language skills.• Can often be prevented or reduced by appropriate actions by caregivers.

Emotional development is complex and depends on brain development in other areas such as thinking, memory, and language.

Babies who express a range of emotions, from happy to unhappy, show healthy development!