Infants Ability to Understand The Emotions of Others
How and when infants begin to understand the emotions of those surrounding them.
Infants typically begin to become aware and understand others’ emotions by the end of their first year. It is presumed that infants must first be able to identify the self as a separate individual before they can begin to develop empathy for others (Crosser, n.d.). Their emotional awareness of others begins by becoming “increasingly sensitive to variations in caregivers’ emotional messages,” (Berk, 2008). By the time a toddler reaches two years of age they seemingly have a clear understanding of the emotions of others and will empathize by showing similar emotions and comforting them in the same way they like to be comforted, (Berk, 2008). Usually they will offer comfort that isn’t relevant to the adult they are trying to comfort such as offering their favorite stuffed animal or blanket, but the awareness is there (Crosser, n.d.). It has been theorized that providing a child with opportunities and words to help explain their personal emotional distress can increase their emotional awareness for the self as well as others (Crosser, n.d.).
Sources
Berk, L. E. (2008). Infants, Children, and Adolescents. Washington D.C.: Allyn & Bacon.
Crosser, S. (n.d.). Do You Know How I Feel? Empathy and the Young Child. Retrieved October 29, 2011, from Earlychildhood NEWS: http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=242
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