User:EricOffermanns/sandbox

= Social referencing = Social referencing refers in the developmental psychology to the process wherein infants (from approx. eight to twelve months on), in unfamiliar situations, using affective displays (in particular facial expressions) of an adult to regulate their behavior towards environmental objects, persons and situations. The infant or toddler reinsures himself with a caregiver as to how the uncertainty generating situation or object is to be assessed. Mostly, the face-to-face interaction between caregiver (often mother) and infant is scientifically examined, such as in the most prominent study about social referencing – the visual cliff experiment, created by Eleanor J. Gibson and Richard D. Walk.

Social Referencing is considered an important component of the emotional development of children, as the child learns to appraise the situation and context by orientating on the caregiver's behavior and emotions. It is associated with separation anxiety and is said to be crucial for the child's subsequent assessment of emotional responses.

Social Referencing is often viewed as the precursor of the theory of mind, which describes the capability to assume processes of consciousness such as thoughts, expectations, attitudes, and feelings. By comparing emotional responses with the context, the child proves to be aware of intentions others have.

Literature
R. N. Emde, J. G. Sorce (1983): The rewards of infancy: Emotional availability and maternal referencing. In J. G. Call, E. Galenson, P. I. Tyson (Hrsg.), Frontiers of Infant Psychiatry. New York, Basic Books, S. 17–30

Gibson, E. J., & Walk, R. D. (1960). The" visual cliff". Scientific American, 202(4), 64-71.

Walden, T. A., & Ogan, T. A. (1988). The development of social referencing. Child development, 1230-1240.

Feinman, S. (1982). Social referencing in infancy. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly (1982-), 445-470.

Klinnert, M. D., Campos, J. J., Sorce, J. F., Emde, R. N., & Svejda, Marilyn(1983). Emotions as behavior regulators: Social referencing in infancy. In Emotions in early development (pp. 57-86). Academic Press.

Slaughter, V., & McConnell, D. (2003). Emergence of joint attention: Relationships between gaze following, social referencing, imitation, and naming in infancy. The Journal of genetic psychology, 164(1), 54-71.