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Tara L. Kuther

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As a newborn, Terrence expressed distress by spreading his arms, kicking his legs, and crying. When he did this, his mother or father would scoop him up and hold him, trying to comfort him. Terrence quickly began to prefer interacting with attentive adults who cared for him. Soon Baby Terrence began to smile and gurgle when held. In turn, Terrence’s parents played with him and were delighted to see his animated, excited responses. As a toddler, his emerging language skills enabled Terrence to express his needs in words. He quickly learned that words are powerful tools that can convey emotions (“I love you, Mommy”). Without realizing it, Terrence used words to help him manage strong emotions and difficult situations. For example, he distracted himself from stressful stimuli, like the neighbor’s scary dog, by singing to himself. Terrence could express his ideas and feelings to everyone around him, making for new and more complex relationships with his parents and siblings.

As Terrence illustrates, in the first 2 years of life, babies learn new ways of expressing their emotions. They become capable of new and more complex emotions and develop a greater sense of self-understanding, social awareness, and self-management. These abilities influence their interactions with others and their emerging social relationships. These processes collectively are referred to as socioemotional development. In this chapter, we examine the processes of socioemotional development in infancy and toddlerhood.