Which ability do infants have in the first few months of life when reading faces and tones of voice?

Which ability do infants have in the first few months of life when reading faces and tones of voice?

• A. Understand what emotions mean.
• B. Discern whether a positive or negative emotion is being expressed.
• C. Respond in kind to others' emotional cues.
• D. Recognize their own emotions similarly.

Answer: (C)

Infants are highly attuned to social cues from faces and voices, and early on their main response is to react to those emotional signals with their own behavior. This means they tend to respond in kind to others’ emotional cues—smiling back when a caregiver smiles, calming or cooing in a soothing voice, or seeking closeness when tones suggest comfort or distress. This immediate, reciprocal responsiveness lays the groundwork for social interaction long before they grasp what emotions mean or can label them themselves. Understanding emotions conceptually isn’t present yet, so they don’t truly “know” what emotions are. They can distinguish some positive from negative cues to guide their behavior, but the core early skill is responding to those cues. And they are not recognizing their own emotions in a way that adults do.

Infants are highly attuned to social cues from faces and voices, and early on their main response is to react to those emotional signals with their own behavior. This means they tend to respond in kind to others’ emotional cues—smiling back when a caregiver smiles, calming or cooing in a soothing voice, or seeking closeness when tones suggest comfort or distress. This immediate, reciprocal responsiveness lays the groundwork for social interaction long before they grasp what emotions mean or can label them themselves.

Understanding emotions conceptually isn’t present yet, so they don’t truly “know” what emotions are. They can distinguish some positive from negative cues to guide their behavior, but the core early skill is responding to those cues. And they are not recognizing their own emotions in a way that adults do.