Final answer:
Infants' emotional perceptions undergo significant changes in their first year of life as their emotions become increasingly social.
Step-by-step explanation:
Infants' emotional perceptions in the first year of life undergo significant changes as their emotions become increasingly social. Initially, infants experience basic emotions such as joy, sadness, anger, and fear. They primarily rely on facial expressions, vocalizations, and body movements to communicate their emotions. For example, they may smile when happy and cry when upset.
As they grow, infants develop more complex emotional perceptions and abilities. They become more sensitive to the emotions of others, engaging in social referencing by looking to caregivers for cues on how to react in certain situations. They also start to exhibit social smile, which is directed towards familiar people and serves as a way to establish connections and social bonds. Additionally, their emotions become more regulated and they start to show empathy towards others, displaying distress when witnessing someone else in pain.
Overall, infants' emotional perceptions evolve from basic emotions to more complex social emotions, allowing them to engage with and navigate the social world around them.