How Young Minds Navigate Social Interaction: From Infancy to Childhood

Social interactions are central to human life—from initiating new relationships to maintaining them, and eventually, in some cases, ending them. While social engagement comes naturally to adults, understanding how infants and young children perceive, interpret, and navigate these complex social dynamics remains a critical area of study. In this talk, I explore how infants and young children make sense of the multifaceted nature of social interaction. Drawing on a series of empirical studies, I examine how they understand and navigate social relationships—how they initiate, maintain, and adjust them by attending to various social cues. In particular, I focus on how cues such as shared similarity, group membership, and moral behavior shape children’s understanding of and engagement with others. Together, these findings highlight the sophistication of early social reasoning and reveal how young minds form, sustain, and reconsider their social connections, providing insights for those who support children’s social and emotional development.