Baby Development - 3 Month Old Infants are Sensitive to Emotional Cues Referring to Objects in the World

By Colleen Hurley, RD, Certified Kid’s Nutrition Specialist

Observing your little 3 month old baby, you may struggle to figure out just what is going on inside her head.  Beginning to teach her new objects and sounds, and perhaps receiving an acknowledging smile, you may think that is all that can occur at her age.  She may be paying more attention to your behaviors than you know, according to a new study. 

Researchers from Hunter College and the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Scientists found that at 3 month old babies’ brains go beyond just smiling back at you; they use social cues to process objects around them. 

For the past several decades, it was believed that social referencing did not develop until a baby is about 12 months of age.  Social referencing is the ability to locate and utilize social cues as a means to guide one’s behavior in a new situation. 

The research team showed 3 month old babies images of people viewing new objects with either a fearful or neutral look on their face.  Measurement of the babies’ electrophysiological brain activity revealed that the processing of a new object was contingent upon the emotional signals that the adults had used.  Essentially, according to researchers, when an adult showed fear toward an object it heightened the infant’s attention.

The study provides exciting insight into brain development.  Authors of the study feel the research not only aids in understanding how social signals are processed by babies, but also may be able to pinpoint infants at risk for abnormal communicative development such as autism.   By measuring a baby’s brain measurements, we are able to see how they view the world around them even before they have the behaviors and social skills to show us.