Social and Emotional Development
Child Development - Social and Emotional Development
Introduction:
As we grow older we change; these changes are most visible during infancy and childhood. From birth, babies grow larger and show noticeable development in both their social and intellectual competence. The study of age-related changes in human behaviour is referred to as developmental psychology. Child development refers to the psychological and biological changes that occur in individuals from birth to adolescence. By understanding child development, psychologists know what to expect in infants and children at each developmental stage, and can therefore establish the limitations in infant’s and children’s growth and achievement.
“It has been said that our emotions make us seem most human” (1). Everyone has emotions, even babies that are only a few days old. Although babies do not appear to have fully developed personalities in their first few days of life, observations show that they actually exhibit quite considerable differences in temperament during this period. Some babies are calm and generally quiet, while others appear to be more ‘fussy’ and are quite active. They demonstrate remarkable emotional behaviours – for example they smile, laugh, cry, show fear, discomfort and excitement, and they form loving attachments. Emotions flood our existence and affect us all the time, and no study of human behaviour, including child behaviour, would be complete without also examining the power and value of our emotions.
Social and emotional development defined:
Social development refers to the development of interaction between individuals and the surrounding human world, including relationships [pic] with others and also the social skills needed to fit into our culture and society. Social development can also be defined as the ability to behave in a manner that allows the individual to be accepted by both their peers and
Bibliography: 1) Dworetzky, J. P. (1994) Psychology (Ch. 12, Pg. 416). West Publishing Company. 4) Camras, L. A. (1988, April) Darwin revisited. An infant’s first emotional facial expressions 8) Dworetzky, J. P. (1994) Psychology (Ch. 13, Pg. 447). West Publishing Company. • Sharman, C. (1998) Observing Children: A Practical Guide. Cassell • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_development