1. Human Development I
Chapter 8
Emotional and Social Development of
Infants

2. Learning Objectives and FCS
Standards

Learning Objective: Students will identify the
difference between emotional and social
development, understand what occurs with
emotional and social development in the first
year and the caregiver’s role, identify the
importance of attachment, and define
temperament and identify various types of
temperament.

FCS Standards: FCS 06-12.4.1, 4.A, 4.B, 0612.5.1, 5.A, 5.B, 5.C

3. Social and Emotional Development
What’s the difference?

Emotional Development: the process of learning to
recognize and express feelings and establish a unique
personal identity.


Social Development: the process of learning selfexpression and how to interact with others.


Healthy emotional development helps a child become an
adult who is self-confident, able to handle stress, and
empathetic to the feelings of others.
Healthy social development helps a child become an adult
who communicates well with others, listens to different
points of view before acting, and shows tolerance for
other people.
These 2 areas of development are connected in that
feelings children have about themselves will be
reflected in their behavior toward others.

4. How do emotions develop during the
first year of life?

Emotions become more specific with age.

At birth, the range of emotion is limited-pain and
discomfort are expressed through crying and
contentment is expressed through being quiet.

Between the end of month 1-2, babies start to show
delight by smiling.

In the second month, babies also begin to show
different feelings through different cries.

Opinions differ on when a baby begins to show angersome say as early as 3-6 months, others feel it’s toward
the end of the first year.

5. What does bonding have to do with
emotional development?

Attachment: The bond that forms between a child and
care-giver.

A strong sense of attachment between baby and caregiver builds trust and allows the baby to feel secure. By
feeling secure, they relate better to others.

Erikson theorized that the first year of life is when
infants learn to trust or mistrust the world.

The most critical period of time in the formation of
bonding is the first few months of life. Attachment is
not fully formed until about age 2.

6. How is attachment formed?

Physical contact-being held, gentle touching or
massage, patting on the back.

Communication-Babies respond to a care-givers
voice, facial expressions, and eye contact. As babies
mature their non-verbal communication grows to hugs
and walking or crawling to the care-giver.

Predictable routines.

Meeting baby’s needs.

Giving baby your undivided attention and spending
quality time with them, as much as you can.

7. What happens when attachment is not
formed?

Failure to thrive: a condition in
which babies fail to grow and
develop properly.
 If
an infant’s needs aren’t met, they
don’t trust their environment and they
eventually fail to respond to people and
become withdrawn. This can affect
their ability to form relationships for
the rest of their life.

8. Understanding Temperament

Temperament: A person’s unique
nature, which determines how a
baby reacts to others and the world.
 Revealed
in how children react to
various situations.

9. Types of Temperament

Researchers have identified nine different
temperament traits. Each child has each trait to a
greater or lesser degree. A baby needs to be looked at
in terms of all traits together.
1.
Intensity
Persistence
Sensitivity
Perceptiveness
Adaptability
Regularity
Energy
First Reaction
Mood
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
As we go through
all nine traits,
rate yourself on
the worksheet
What Is Your
Temperament?

10. Temperament Traits
1. Intensity-the intensity of a
child’s emotional response.
 An
intense baby may cry loudly,
while a less intense baby will cry
more softly.

11. Temperament Traits
2. Persistence-how determined
is a child to complete an action.
A
persistent child may become
easily upset if unable to complete a
task and are unwilling to give up.
A
less persistent child can easily
be persuaded to begin a new
activity.

12. Temperament Traits
3. Sensitivity-how strongly does
a child react to his/her feelings?
 Highly
sensitive children may be
bothered by sights, sounds or
smells. They may be a fussy eater
or complain of uncomfortable
clothing.

13. Temperament Traits
4. Perceptiveness-how aware
are they of the environment
around them?

Highly perceptive children get distracted
easily and have a harder time following
directions.

Children lower in perceptiveness are less
likely to notice what’s going on around
them.

14. Temperament Traits
5. Adaptability-how do they
adapt to change?
 Children
who are low in
adaptability resist change.
A
highly adaptable child isn’t
bothered by surprises.

15. Temperament Traits
6. Regularity-does the child’s
behavior follow regular patterns?

Children who are highly regular
get tired and hungry at the same
time each day.

16. Temperament Traits
7. Energy-what is their energy
level?
 High
energy children are physically
active and may have trouble sitting for
long periods of time.

17. Temperament Traits
8. First reaction-how do they
face new situations?
 High=open
to new activities, willing
to try new foods.
 Low=watch
others before joining,
less comfortable in unfamiliar
situations.

18. Temperament Traits
9. Mood-is the child typically
cheerful or cranky?
 High=cranky,
points out problems
 Low=cheerful,
positive

19. Crying and Comforting

Newborns vary in how much they cry.


Some babies are referred to as “easy”-easy to comfort and
don’t cry as much
Some are referred to as “hard”-harder to comfort and cry
more often.

Babies cry for a reason. When caring for a baby, check
to see if it’s a physical problem-hungry, needing a
diaper change, too hot or cold, needing to burp.

If none of these are the cause, baby may want your
company-to be cuddled and comforted. These are real
needs too!

20. Ways to comfort a baby.

Cuddling-being rocked and held.

Move baby to a different position.

Talk softly or sing to baby.

Offer something that interests them.

Stroke or gently rub baby’s back.

After some time, babies learn ways to comfort
themselves.

21. Colic

Colic: a condition in babies that results in an
extended period of time crying. Baby is also
inconsolable.

Usually happens between 6pm and midnight.

Often worst when baby is about 6 weeks old.

These period continue to decrease until they finally
end.

Doctors aren’t sure what causes colic-it may stem
from certain foods.

22. Reflux

Reflux: A condition in which partially
digested food rises into the throat.

Can cause colic-like symptoms.

When in doubt if it’s colic or reflux, ask a
pediatrician.

23. Thumb Sucking and Pacifiers

Sucking is a basic urge for babies. Remember, a
reflex. 

Some babies suck on their thumbs or fingers. The
behavior usually stops on its own and generally does
not cause problems, unless it changes the shape of
the mouth.

Other babies find comfort in sucking on a pacifier.
As long as the pacifier is appropriate for their age, is
the correct size, and does not replace food, it’s
considered safe. They should also not be tied around
baby’s neck and should be kept clean.

24. The Emotional Climate of the Home

Babies sense the emotional state of their caregiver.

It’s important to keep your emotions in control when
parenting your baby.

Very negative environments can actually hinder baby’s
development.

Single parents may need extra support, as they take
on the responsibility of parenting on their own. Finding
ways to release frustration and anger when away from
their children is important.

25. Social Development

Social Development follows a
pattern just like emotional and
physical development.

Social developmental milestones
pg. 268-269

26. Signs of Social Development

Stranger anxiety: a fear of
unfamiliar people, usually expressed
by crying. Develops around 8
months old.
 How
can caregivers help a child deal
with stranger anxiety?

27. Scenario…

Carla and Eric’s 10 month old daughter,
Lily, is displaying typical signs of stranger
anxiety. Lily’s daily babysitter is moving out
of town in a month.

What steps should Carla and Eric take now to
ensure a smooth transition for Lily and her new
caretaker? (write them on the board)

Which steps would be most effective?

28. How is behavior learned?

Infants learn how to behave through their
relationships with others.

They learn that some actions get a positive response
from the caregiver-smiling, laugher, hugs, praise
and some actions receive negative responsesscolding and frowning.

Babies develop better social behaviors if they get
more positive responses than negative.

It’s also important to be clear and consistent when
communicating with baby.

29. Babies learn through play.

Play is how babies learn about the
environment around them. Socially,
it helps them learn how to interact
with others.

What are some ways caregivers can
play with infants?

30. Exploring through play.

Babies learn and explore through cause
and effect: understanding that one event
(the effect) is caused by another event.



CRY=NEEDS MET (comfort and food)
DROP A TOY=TOY WILL FALL
Even though exploration is an innate
behavior, encouragement and positive
responses from caregivers motivates babies
to explore and learn even more.