Gender

• Gender


  Significance of being male or female. In infancy (birth to about 1 year old), the significance of being male or female is primarily biological. Social constructs of gender haven't yet had a major influence on a child's life.
• Gender-typing


  The process by which children learn the expectations and behaviors associated with their gender. It starts early and happens through various social interactions and experiences.
• Basic sense of trust versus mistrust


  Erikson’s first stage in psychosocial development, in which infants develop a sense of the reliability of people and objects.
• Social referencing - the process where infants and young children use the emotional cues of others, particularly caregivers, to understand a situation and regulate their own behavior. It's like "reading" the emotions on someone's face and using that information to guide their own reaction.