Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026

Assessment of Social Interaction Behaviors
Published on: February 25, 2011
Early sociomoral reasoning encompasses more than interpersonal relationships
Renée Baillargeon1, Lin Bian2, Kyong-Sun Jin3
1Department of Psychology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA rbaillar@illinois.edu.
None:
Thomas's account suggests that infants are limited to reasoning about interpersonal relationships. We argue that this account fails to do justice to infants' sociomoral reasoning. We describe an alternative account that grants infants expectations of harm avoidance, ingroup support, authority, fairness, and reciprocity. We highlight differences between the two accounts and suggest research directions for moving beyond these differences.
Related Concept Videos
Social Foundations of Self II: The Generalized Other
Causes of Social Behavior II: Cognitive Processes
Relationship with Parents: Attachment
Social Foundations of Self I: Play and Game
Cognition and Behavior
Causes of Social Behavior I: Actions and Characteristics of Individuals

