Infant Toddler Learning & Development Foundations

Both the understanding and expression
of emotion are influenced by culture.
Cultural factors affect children’s
growing understanding of the meaning
of emotions, the developing knowledge
of which situations lead to which
emotional outcomes, and their learning
about which emotions are appropriate
to display in which situations
(Thompson and Goodvin 2005). Some
cultural groups appear to express certain
emotions more often than other
cultural groups (Tsai, Levenson, and
McCoy 2006). In addition, cultural
groups vary by which particular emotions
or emotional states they value
(Tsai, Knutson, and Fung 2006). One
study suggests that cultural differences
in exposure to particular emotions
through storybooks may contribute
to young children’s preferences for
particular emotional states (for example,
excited or calm) (Tsai and others
2007).
Young children’s expression of positive
and negative emotions may play a
significant role in their development of
social relationships. Positive emotions
appeal to social partners and seem
to enable relationships to form, while
problematic management or expression
of negative emotions leads to difficulty
in social relationships (Denham and
Weissberg 2004). The use of emotionrelated
words appears to be associated
with how likable preschoolers are
considered by their peers. Children
who use emotion-related words were
found to be better-liked by their classmates
(Fabes and others 2001). Infants
respond more positively to adult vocalizations
that have a positive affective
tone (Fernald 1993). Social smiling is
a developmental process in which neurophysiology
and cognitive, social, and
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emotional factors play a part, seen as a
“reflection and constituent of an interactive
relationship” (Messinger and
Fogel 2007, 329). It appears likely that
the experience of positive emotions is
a particularly important contributor to
emotional well-being and psychological
health (Fredrickson 2000, 2003;
Panksepp 2001).
Empathy
During the first three years of life,
children begin to develop the capacity
to experience the emotional or psychological
state of another person (Zahn-
Waxler and Radke-Yarrow 1990).
The following definitions of empathy
are found in the research literature:
“knowing what another person is feeling,”
“feeling what another person is
feeling,” and “responding compassionately
to another’s distress” (Levenson
and Ruef 1992, 234). The concept of
empathy reflects the social nature of
emotion, as it links the feelings of two
or more people (Levenson and Ruef
1992). Since human life is relationship-based,
one vitally important function
of empathy over the life span is to
strengthen social bonds (Anderson and
Keltner 2002). Research has shown a
correlation between empathy and prosocial
behavior (Eisenberg 2000). In
particular, prosocial behaviors, such
as helping, sharing, and comforting or
showing concern for others, illustrate
the development of empathy (Zahn-
Waxler and others 1992) and how the
experience of empathy is thought to
be related to the development of moral
behavior (Eisenberg 2000). Adults
model prosocial/empathic behaviors
for infants in various ways. For
example, those behaviors are modeled
through caring interactions with oth-
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT