Social Referencing During Infancy and Toddlerhood

Social referencing is the process of understanding how to respond in uncertain situations by observing and interpreting others’ reactions.

Infants engage in social referencing by observing caregivers’ emotional cues to find out how to respond in unfamiliar or uncertain situations.

Infants as young as five and a half months display social referencing, but they require both visual and auditory cues to do so effectively.

By 12 months, toddlers can use either facial expressions or vocal tone to assess the safety of a situation, but they respond faster to vocal cues.

At 14 months, children avoid a plastic creature placed within reach if an adult had reacted negatively to it, even an hour before.

Younger infants aged 6 to 9 months check in with adults regardless of the type of stimulus they encounter, whereas older infants aged 10 to 12 months typically do so only in unclear situations.

Infants are also more likely to rely on adults who have responded to them consistently in the past.

Plus, social referencing helps toddlers develop self-conscious emotions, such as embarrassment and pride, and supports their socialization.