4.1 Autonomy and Sense of Self in Infants and Toddlers

Infants start to develop a sense of self as separate from others through understanding what they can and cannot control in their environment.
Infants do not recognize their reflection in mirrors until approximately eighteen months of age.
Infants further develop self-awareness through understanding their body as an obstacle.
Infants experience gender socialization through interactions with caregivers, social and cultural experiences, and perceived expectations of their behavior. They learn how to label their gender by age three years.

4.2 Temperament and Personality in Infants and Toddlers

Infants are born with biologically based components of individuality known as temperament.
Temperament can be shaped and modified by parents and culture and can predict personality traits in childhood and adolescence.
Personality begins to form in infancy and is shaped by biology, environment, and temperament. Personality theories include trait theories like the Big Five theory.
According to Erikson’s theory, during the first few years of life, individuals face the challenges of trust versus mistrust and autonomy versus doubt, which help develop trust in others and autonomy and self-confidence.

Moods are long-lasting levels of arousal and pleasure, in contrast to emotions, which are temporary states.
Primary emotions are biologically based and appear in the first year of life, whereas secondary emotions are situational and emerge in the second year of life.
Self-conscious emotions involve an infant being aware of how others view them.
Infants often depend on their caregivers to help with emotion regulation, but basic skills do emerge in infancy and toddlerhood.
Emotional intelligence and awareness of others’ emotions also develop at this time.

Imitation—first involuntary and later voluntary—fosters an emotional bond between infants and their caregivers.
Infants learn how to process emotions by watching their caregiver and by practicing social referencing.
The emotional attachment between an infant and a primary caregiver has been theorized to have biological, evolutionary, and cognitive components.
The Strange Situation is an experiment in which different behavioral patterns are identified as characteristic of different attachment styles.
Attachment is also influenced by cultural and ecological processes; types of attachment at twelve months of age can vary between cultures.

There are many types of families, but what most strongly influences infant outcomes is the number of caregivers, which affects the level of financial and time strains.
Families are embedded within layers of cultural and community influences that affect infant development.
Childcare options are varied, but high-quality childcare does not harm the emotional and social well-being of toddlers and children.
Childrearing practices vary across cultures and can influence which skills are fostered and when.