Madelyn is making faces at her three-day-old infant daughter. What response could Madelyn expect from her daughter?

A) No response. The mirror neurons that allow Madelyn's daughter to respond are not developed until approximately two months of age.

B) Her daughter will likely imitate Madelyn's facial expressions.

C) No response. Infants' eyesight does not fully develop for several months after birth; therefore, her daughter will not see Madelyn's facial expressions.

D) Her daughter will imitate positive facial expressions but not negative facial expressions.

Madelyn could expect no response from her three-day-old infant when making faces, as mirror neurons are not fully developed until around two months of age. Infants start to show social referencing closer to the end of the first year. Therefore, the correct option is A

Explanation:

Madelyn's three-day-old infant daughter is still developing the ability to recognize and respond to facial expressions. While very young infants exhibit basic emotional responses of attraction to pleasant situations and withdrawal from unpleasant ones, the ability to imitate facial expressions, often attributed to mirror neurons, is not typically present at such a young age. Therefore, the response that Madelyn could expect from her daughter is most likely going to be option A) No response, as the mirror neurons that would allow her daughter to respond are not fully developed until approximately two months of age.

Infants' ability to see and respond to facial expressions does improve rapidly, however. By two to three months, they begin to seek more detail in faces and show preferences for faces over other shapes and patterns. This development leads to what is known as social smiling, where infants respond with smiles to engaging interactions, often becoming more frequent around the two-month mark.

Furthermore, infants do engage in social referencing as they grow, looking to their caregivers for cues on how to react in unfamiliar situations. However, this level of social understanding typically begins to develop prior to the end of the first year, rather than in the first days after birth.