Judgment Days

Even before toddlers can form a complete sentence, they are attuned to how others may be judging them, finds a new study by Emory psychologists.

The journal Developmental Psychology is publishing the results, documenting that toddlers are sensitive to the opinions of others, and that they will modify their behavior accordingly when others are watching.

“We’ve shown that by the age of twenty-four months, children are not only aware that other people may be evaluating them, but that they will alter their behavior to seek a positive response,” says Sara Valencia Botto (above), an Emory PhD candidate and first author of the study.

While previous research has documented this behavior in four- to five-year-olds, the new study suggests that it may emerge much sooner.

“There is something specifically human in the way that we’re sensitive to the gaze of others, and how systematic and strategic we are about controlling that gaze,” says Philippe Rochat, a psychology professor who specializes in childhood development and senior author of the study.