Social and Emotional Behavior

Social and emotional behavior includes a range of responses that allow individuals to interact and connect with others and to communicate feelings about the self, others, and relationships. Initiating [Page 2021]a social exchange, interacting with an individual or a group, revealing pleasure or distress, helping another, or engaging in conflict are examples of social and emotional behavior. Infants learn to use social signals and emotional expressions in their interactions with their caregivers. In the context of these early relationships, infants and toddlers begin to express and understand emotions and develop a nascent sense of the self as distinct from others. Cognitive advances, and a broader range of interpersonal experiences, help to refine, organize, and regulate early social and emotional behavior through childhood and adolescence. At ...