Social Referencing

Social referencing occurs when individuals (most typically infants) use cues from people in their environment to learn what behaviors, emotions, and actions are appropriate in the particular setting. This is a type of social learning and is an integral part of the developmental process in human infants. The observation of others' behaviors leads to the eventual imitation of these behaviors. Infants learn to analyze the facial expressions and actions of others in order to determine socially appropriate emotions and behaviors.