Social development
Understanding self and others
Self concept - general term to describe how people think about themselves, i.e. their
identity - How we perceive our behaviors, abilities, and unique characteristics
• Can encompass: Appearance, Personality, Ability, Gender, etc
Self esteem – when someone evaluates their own self concept and compares it with
concept of others.
Difference between self-concept and self-esteem:
Self-concept refers to a broad description of ourselves ("I am a good writer") while self-
esteem includes any judgments or opinions we have of ourselves ("I feel proud to be a
good writer").
Understanding Self and others
Person permanence:
o “infants’ recognition of particular others and their search for them when that
person disappears from view” (p198)
o An understanding that people and objects still exist when they can't be seen.
o Internal representation of a social being - a presentation to the mind in the form of
an idea or image.
o Understanding of continuity in time and space
• Major progress towards this made during a child’s first year
• Achieved by end of sensorimotor period (18 months)
Self-recognition
The ability to recognize oneself in a mirror or photograph - recognizing the “self” as
separate from others.
The Mirror Test - Timeline (approximate):
• Young infants: 6-12 months - think the baby in the mirror is another baby
• Older babies: 13-24 months - feel shy and hesitate
• Toddlers: age 20-24 months - recognize that the reflection in mirror is their own
o Develop self-awareness around 15-24 months
Critique: cultural differences, individual differences, may not show overtly but may be
aware.
How do children understand other’s emotions, desires and beliefs?
• Self-awareness
o Aware of self by 18-20 months
o Able to express own emotional states by 2 years
• Capacity for pretense (make-believe):
o First emerges (12-15 months) as actions directed to one self (e.g. pretending to
sleep)
o Conjuring up animate beings around age 2 - magically appear
o Physical props used less often by age 3 (e.g. imaginary objects and actions); also
more spontaneous - impulsive, do things without planning
• Distinguishing reality from pretense
o Pretend play not usually confused with reality
o Although at age 1 & 2 there still can be confusion (e.g. when an adult joins in the
pretend play)
o Pretense-reality distinction stable by 3 to 4 years - able to distinguish
o Ability to signal the ‘pretend mode’ of the play
, Emotional development
• Producing emotions:
o Emotional state is gestured since birth - or even before (Ustun et al., 2022).
o Earliest distinction is positive or negative affect (contented and happy or
discontented and distressed)
o Mothers can distinguish several emotions displayed by infants in the first few
months of life (Campos et al., 1983)
o Difference between anger and pain apparent after about 7 months (Izard et al.,
1987)
o Parental mind-mindedness focuses on baby’s inferred (through reasoning) states of
mind (Meins et al., 2002)
• Recognising emotions in others
o Infants less than 1 month old can be observed to imitate facial movements
(Meltzoff & Moore, 1977)
o Social referencing – infant looks to mother/familiar caregiver to judge their reaction
before reacting themselves (Feinman, 1982)
o Baby can recognise different emotions and reproduce basic ones in response
o Cautious reaction to strangers from about 7 months – some studies found a
reaction in line with mother’s facial expression (Klinnert, 1984)
o Visual cliff – children more likely to cross visual cliff if mothers showed a happy
expression rather than a fearful expression (Sorce et al., 1985). Visual cliff is used
to investigate depth perception. It consists of flat surface which has the
appearance of a several-foot drops across. The child determines situations danger
through caretakers
The Still Face Experiment
• Gives an insight into how a parent's reactions can affect the emotional development of
a baby.
• Mother faces her baby, and is asked to hold a 'still face', in which she does not react to
the baby's behaviors. The babies attempt to connect continue to be ignored by her
mother and start to show distress and frustration. She begins crying and then
screeching.
• The still face experiment gives an insight into how a parent's reactions can affect the
emotional development of a baby.
• Babies have a clear reaction to a lack of emotional connection from their mothers and
fathers.
• Parent-infant interactions in early childhood have a significant influence on child
behavior.
Perceptions of Others
• With a few exceptions, we assume that all adults have an awareness that other people
have minds just like us
• Understanding we have a mind: we have emotions, feelings and desires
o It is basic to our everyday human understanding that both ourselves and others
have beliefs
• Understanding that others’ behaviour is based on their beliefs about the world is vital if
we are to make sense of what people say and how they act - theory of mind
• Understanding of mental states, such as belief, desire, and knowledge, that enables us
to explain and predict others' behaviour - why they act the way they do is due to their
desire, etc
Understanding the Mind – starting with our own
• We understand that we have:
o Emotions and feelings (e.g. feel happy or sad)
Understanding self and others
Self concept - general term to describe how people think about themselves, i.e. their
identity - How we perceive our behaviors, abilities, and unique characteristics
• Can encompass: Appearance, Personality, Ability, Gender, etc
Self esteem – when someone evaluates their own self concept and compares it with
concept of others.
Difference between self-concept and self-esteem:
Self-concept refers to a broad description of ourselves ("I am a good writer") while self-
esteem includes any judgments or opinions we have of ourselves ("I feel proud to be a
good writer").
Understanding Self and others
Person permanence:
o “infants’ recognition of particular others and their search for them when that
person disappears from view” (p198)
o An understanding that people and objects still exist when they can't be seen.
o Internal representation of a social being - a presentation to the mind in the form of
an idea or image.
o Understanding of continuity in time and space
• Major progress towards this made during a child’s first year
• Achieved by end of sensorimotor period (18 months)
Self-recognition
The ability to recognize oneself in a mirror or photograph - recognizing the “self” as
separate from others.
The Mirror Test - Timeline (approximate):
• Young infants: 6-12 months - think the baby in the mirror is another baby
• Older babies: 13-24 months - feel shy and hesitate
• Toddlers: age 20-24 months - recognize that the reflection in mirror is their own
o Develop self-awareness around 15-24 months
Critique: cultural differences, individual differences, may not show overtly but may be
aware.
How do children understand other’s emotions, desires and beliefs?
• Self-awareness
o Aware of self by 18-20 months
o Able to express own emotional states by 2 years
• Capacity for pretense (make-believe):
o First emerges (12-15 months) as actions directed to one self (e.g. pretending to
sleep)
o Conjuring up animate beings around age 2 - magically appear
o Physical props used less often by age 3 (e.g. imaginary objects and actions); also
more spontaneous - impulsive, do things without planning
• Distinguishing reality from pretense
o Pretend play not usually confused with reality
o Although at age 1 & 2 there still can be confusion (e.g. when an adult joins in the
pretend play)
o Pretense-reality distinction stable by 3 to 4 years - able to distinguish
o Ability to signal the ‘pretend mode’ of the play
, Emotional development
• Producing emotions:
o Emotional state is gestured since birth - or even before (Ustun et al., 2022).
o Earliest distinction is positive or negative affect (contented and happy or
discontented and distressed)
o Mothers can distinguish several emotions displayed by infants in the first few
months of life (Campos et al., 1983)
o Difference between anger and pain apparent after about 7 months (Izard et al.,
1987)
o Parental mind-mindedness focuses on baby’s inferred (through reasoning) states of
mind (Meins et al., 2002)
• Recognising emotions in others
o Infants less than 1 month old can be observed to imitate facial movements
(Meltzoff & Moore, 1977)
o Social referencing – infant looks to mother/familiar caregiver to judge their reaction
before reacting themselves (Feinman, 1982)
o Baby can recognise different emotions and reproduce basic ones in response
o Cautious reaction to strangers from about 7 months – some studies found a
reaction in line with mother’s facial expression (Klinnert, 1984)
o Visual cliff – children more likely to cross visual cliff if mothers showed a happy
expression rather than a fearful expression (Sorce et al., 1985). Visual cliff is used
to investigate depth perception. It consists of flat surface which has the
appearance of a several-foot drops across. The child determines situations danger
through caretakers
The Still Face Experiment
• Gives an insight into how a parent's reactions can affect the emotional development of
a baby.
• Mother faces her baby, and is asked to hold a 'still face', in which she does not react to
the baby's behaviors. The babies attempt to connect continue to be ignored by her
mother and start to show distress and frustration. She begins crying and then
screeching.
• The still face experiment gives an insight into how a parent's reactions can affect the
emotional development of a baby.
• Babies have a clear reaction to a lack of emotional connection from their mothers and
fathers.
• Parent-infant interactions in early childhood have a significant influence on child
behavior.
Perceptions of Others
• With a few exceptions, we assume that all adults have an awareness that other people
have minds just like us
• Understanding we have a mind: we have emotions, feelings and desires
o It is basic to our everyday human understanding that both ourselves and others
have beliefs
• Understanding that others’ behaviour is based on their beliefs about the world is vital if
we are to make sense of what people say and how they act - theory of mind
• Understanding of mental states, such as belief, desire, and knowledge, that enables us
to explain and predict others' behaviour - why they act the way they do is due to their
desire, etc
Understanding the Mind – starting with our own
• We understand that we have:
o Emotions and feelings (e.g. feel happy or sad)
