Social Development and Personality- Year One

Why Do Babies Develop Socially? Because babies are physically helpless, they need to respond to others to get their physical and emotional needs met.

Signs of Social Development in Infancy First days of Life Responds to Human Voices (Calm Voices sooths and quiets a baby- harsh or loud voice will upset a baby) One Month Stop crying when lifted or touched. Face brightens when they see a familiar person or parent Two Months Babies begin to smile at people Three Months Baby turns head in response to a voice. Wants companionship as well as physical care.

Social Development in Infancy Four Months Babies laugh out loud. Look to other people for entertainment. Five Months Interest in Family members. May cry when left alone. Babble to their toys and stuffed animals. Six Months Love company and seek attention. Delight in playing games (peek-a-boo). Understands they are a separate person and works to develop an attachment to parents or caregiver. Seven Months Babies prefer parents to other family members or strangers.

Social Development in Infancy Eight Months Prefer to be in a room with other people. Look for company. Nine & Ten Months Socially involved. Love attention. Enjoy being chased. Like to throw toys over and over again with someone else picking them up each time. Eleven & Twelve Months Babies are most friendly and happy at this age. They are sensitive to others emotions. Like to be the center of attention. Like to play games with family and are tolerant of strangers.

Love + Care = ? In some babies, impersonal, infrequent care results in withdrawn and unresponsive attitudes. (may happen in some institutions or families) As children grow up, they lack the ability to from normal social relationships. Interaction with adults is critical to social development in babies! All babies need Love!

Attachment Attachment is a special and strong emotional bond between two people (starts at six months) called imprinting. Physical contact is an important factor in attachment. All babies need a lot of love. In some babies, a lack of love can result in “failure to thrive”. (the infant may not grow or develop properly) In extreme cases, failure to thrive results in marasmus (Greek word means wasting)

Stranger Anxiety Around 8 months, babies develop stranger anxiety, a fear (usually expressed by crying) of unfamiliar people. This is an indicator of baby’s development of memory. They are able to remember parents and caregivers faces who provide comfort and security. When faces seem strange, they may feel fearful.

How Behavior is Learned Babies learn behavior through their daily routines. As they mature they learn certain kinds of behavior are rewarded with positive responses (such as smiles and hugs). Because love is important to babies, they begin to repeat behavior that brings approval! Babies learn to avoid behavior that promotes negative responses (punishment) such as frowns or scolding. Consistency, repeatedly acting in the same way, helps a child understand what behavior is expected. Inconsistency may cause the baby to be confused if the same behavior provokes a positive response one time and a negative response the next.

What is Personality?