Development of Social Cognition in Children

Children are born with rudimentary social cognition skills that develop over the first 18 months of life. Initially, they are able to physically distinguish human beings from everything else, but as they grow, they become more attuned to visual cues and social norms. Children naturally anthropomorphize, inferring minds in people, animals, imaginary creatures, and even inanimate objects. Over time, children refine this imaginative process and learn which entities possess minds. By 18 months, children can infer emotional expressions from faces, and their social cognition skills continue to mature throughout adulthood.