The ability to perceive and understand social interactions is one of the most fundamental capacities of human cognition, and it emerges during the earliest stages of development. This ability encompasses not only the basic recognition of social agents and their actions but also the interpretation of intentional behaviors, emotional exchanges, and strategic interactions between individuals. From the first moments of life, infants demonstrate a remarkable sensitivity to social stimuli, which lays the groundwork for increasingly advanced social cognitive abilities that will support their navigation of the social world throughout the lifespan.
Studies have revealed that preverbal infants possess remarkable social perceptual abilities that extend far beyond simple social awareness. Just as other social animals must identify potential allies and avoid threats among their conspecifics, human infants must develop the ability to assess the actions and intentions of others, distinguishing potential friends from foes and identifying appropriate social partners. Adults evaluate others rapidly and automatically based on both behavior and physical features, and Hamlin et al. (2007) demonstrated that this evaluative capacity emerges surprisingly early. Their research showed that even at 6 and 10 months of age, infants can make complex social judgments, displaying clear preferences for individuals who help others over those who hinder them and favoring neutral individuals over those who cause harm.
Further evidence of infants’ social cognitive abilities comes from research on their understanding of imitation in social interactions. Powell and Spelke (2018) conducted a series of experiments with infants as young as 4–5.5 months old, which revealed that even at this early age, infants attach significant social meaning to imitative behaviors. Their results demonstrated that infants possess specific expectations about social relationships based on observed imitation patterns: they anticipate that individuals who imitate others will subsequently approach and affiliate with their imitation targets. The complexity of processing these …
Correspondence should be addressed to Waldir M. Sampaio at waldirsampaio1994{at}gmail.com.
