If a child falls and scrapes his knee, and immediately looks to his father to see whether or not he should be upset, this is a good example of social referencing.

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Social referencing refers to a child's tendency to look to a caregiver or familiar adult for cues on how to respond to a novel or potentially threatening situation. In this example, the child is seeking information from his father on whether or not he should be upset about his scraped knee, indicating that he is relying on his father's emotional response to guide his own.

If a Child Falls and Scrapes His Knee, and Immediately