Even before toddlers can form a complete sentence, they are attuned to how others may be judging them, finds a new study by psychologists at Emory University.
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 24 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, 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, Botto says.
“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, an Emory professor of psychology who specializes in childhood development and senior author of the study. “At the very bottom, our concern for image management and reputation is about the fear of rejection, one of the main engines of the human psyche.”
This concern for reputation manifests itself in everything from spending money on makeup and designer brands to checking how many “likes” a Facebook post garners.
“Image management is fascinating to me because it’s so important to being human,” Botto says. “Many people rate their fear of public speaking above their fear of dying. If we want to understand human nature, we need to understand when and how the foundation for caring about image emerges.”