01/06/2026
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This image illustrates how emotional regulation, social understanding, and cognitive abilities develop in early childhood, roughly from birth to five years of age. In the first year of life, emotional experience is largely sensory and immediate. Infants show basic responses such as visual attention, social smiling, and surprise, while regulation of unpleasant emotions is mostly external, relying on caregivers. Early coping strategies are simple, such as turning away from discomfort or using transitional objects like toys. As short-term memory and attention develop toward the end of the first year, children begin social referencing, meaning they look to caregivers’ emotional reactions to understand how to respond to unfamiliar situations.
Between one and three years of age, there is rapid growth in emotional complexity and social interaction. Children begin to distinguish themselves from others and show early mentalization, the ability to recognize that other people have separate perspectives. Fear responses become more organized, including separation anxiety and avoidance behaviors. During this period, symbolic play and fantasizing emerge, allowing children to express emotions through roles and imagination. The amygdala remains highly active, while frontal brain regions are still immature, so emotional reactions are strong and regulation is limited.
From around three to five years of age, higher cognitive and social capacities expand significantly. The child develops early self-awareness, moral emotions such as pride, shame, and remorse, and a basic theory of mind, understanding that others have independent thoughts and feelings. Functional connectivity between the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, and prefrontal regions increases, supporting better self-regulation of unpleasant emotions. Children begin adopting social norms and rules and can consciously suppress or modulate emotional expression. By this stage, emotions are no longer only reactions to the present moment but can be triggered by memories, expectations, and internal thoughts, reflecting a more mature and integrated emotional brain.
Reference: Lewis and Granic (2010)
