Julia, a 2-year-old girl, looks at her mother for cues when she is offered a toy by a neighbor, in order to decide whether to ta
ke it or not. If her mother looks happy, Julia might take the doll, and if her mother has a disapproving facial expression, Julia will not take it. This behavior of Julia’s shows that she has developed
Julia's behavior of accepting things after referring her mother indicates the development of social referencing where infants or newborns take cues from their parents or other people in surrounding to regulate their behavior towards the object, person and situations.
Social referencing is the major mechanism by which infants learn about the world around them.
