Social and emotional development
Social and emotional development is the development of emotional communication, understanding of self, ability to manage one's feelings, understand and know other people, relationships, interpersonal skills and moral behavior.
Emotions are central in all aspects of human activity. Emotions are vital to cognitive development because emotional reactions lead to learning that is essential for survival. Emotional development is also vital to social behavior because babies' emotional reactions like crying, laughing, smiling etc affect others' interests in powerful ways.
Similarly the emotional reactions of others regulate children's social behavior. Much research indicates that emotions influence children's physical well-being. Constant psychological stress in children is associated with various health difficulties. Emotions are also important in the emergence of self-awareness.
Infants cannot describe their feelings as adults do. Hence they use emotions to communicate. In addition to facial expressions, some body movements also provide information. International studies have suggested that infants from various cultures show almost the same facial expressions.
In the initial 2 years of life, babies and toddlers show basic emotions like happiness, sadness, anger and fear. Basic emotions are so universal that even non-human primates display them. Besides basic emotions, human beings are capable of another set of emotions called the self-conscious emotions. As the name implies, these emotions involve injury or enhancement to the sense of self. They are shame, pride, embarrassment, guilt and envy.
- Birth-6 months:
- Show signs of almost all basic emotions.
- Smiles socially and laughs.
- Express happiness more when interacting with familiar people.
- Emotional expressions are related to the environment.
- Matches adults' emotional expressions while communicating face-to-face.
- Develops awareness of self as a knower and actor; like understanding that self is separate from rest of the world, remains same over time, is single and consistent and that the self controls itself.
- 7-12 months:
- Anger and fear increase, especially the case of stranger anxiety and separation anxiety.
- Feels secure with caregiver and builds strong caregiver relationship.
- Can detect the meaning of others' emotional signals.
- Engages in social referencing.
- Feels much attached to familiar caregivers.
- 13 to 18 months:
- Can play with familiar adults and children.
- Develops awareness of self as an object of knowledge and evaluation, like understanding the material, psychological and social characteristics of self.
- Understands that others' emotional reactions may differ from one's own.
- Can start feeling empathy.
- 19 to 24 months:
- Display self conscious emotions but the intensity depends on monitoring and encouragement of adults.
- Adds more words in the vocabulary for talking about feelings.
- Learns to tolerate absence of familiar caregiver.
- Can use words to describe peer's behaviors.
- Learns to use own name or personal pronouns to describe self.
- Can sort self others into categories based on age, sex, and other characteristics.
- Starts to develop self control.
- 2-3 years:
- Begins to develop self concept and self esteem.
- Understands causes, effects and behavioral signs of basic emotions.
- Learns to cooperate.
- Empathy increases.
- 3-4 years:
- Improves emotional self-regulation.
- Experiences self-conscious emotions often.
- Decreases non social activities and plays interactively more often.
- Forms first friendship.
- Begins to prefer same-sex playmates.
- 5-6 years:
- Improves ability to interpret, predict and influence others' emotional reactions.
- Expresses empathy more by language.
- Solves social problems better.
- Knows many morally relevant rules and behaviors.
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