By calculating the statistics they gathered from their recording of the experiment, the scientists were able to determine that while mothers timed their smiles to maximize mutual smiling, the infants were likely timing their smiles to maximize mother-only smiling. During the study, scientists programmed a baby-like robot to smile at undergraduate volunteers in the same patterns they had observed in real-life 4-month-olds and their mothers.

2 The discovery was made in a 2015 study at the University of California San Diego. Probably the most significant development from studying babies’ smiles is the discovery that by the time a baby is four months of age, both the baby and mother time their smiles in a purposeful, goal-oriented manner. Furthermore, the types of responses your baby gets after making certain facial expressions could leave a lasting imprint on their social responses. Sometimes the early smiles babies make are attributed to “just gas,” but scientists now believe there may be more to a baby’s first smiles than meets the eye.Īccording to researchers, a baby’s smile can indicate a range of clues toward their social and emotional development starting almost right after birth. Ever wonder what makes your baby smile? Scientists have studied how babies learn facial expressions, and the findings may surprise you.

Baby smiling responsively early