The Basics of Emotional Intelligence
Your newborn exerts tremendous effort getting used to his new surroundings outside the womb. His very first mission is to try to make some sense of his seemingly chaotic environment by bonding and familiarizing himself with you (your scent, voice, facial features and touch) and by identifying and establishing sleep and waking patterns, feeding cycles and ways to calm himself.
Innate Communication Skills
Baby is born with some innate socialization traits and capabilities to communicate his physical and psychological needs. He automatically turns his eyes toward a human voice and gazes into the face of someone speaking to him. His reactions encourage you to interact, setting the cycle in motion for more socialization.
Two Basic Emotions
Your baby is born with two basic emotions: one to express that something is unpleasant (hunger, pain, etc); and the other to express pleasure (calmness, interest, etc). The ability to express many diverse emotions, such as happiness, sadness, anger, and surprise, is derived from these two basic emotions.