Which of the following emotions is an infant younger than 6 months old least likely to experience?

• A. Joy
• B. Interest
• C. Guilt
• D. Distress

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the developmental timeline of emotional experiences in infants. Infants younger than 6 months primarily experience basic emotions such as joy, interest, and distress, which are more immediate and biologically based.
2. Step 2: Recognize that complex self-conscious emotions like guilt require a sense of self and awareness of others' expectations, which typically develop later, around 18 to 24 months of age.
3. Step 3: Compare the options given: joy, interest, distress, and guilt. Since joy, interest, and distress are basic emotions observable in very young infants, they are likely to be experienced before 6 months.
4. Step 4: Identify guilt as a self-conscious emotion that depends on cognitive development and self-awareness, which infants under 6 months do not yet possess.
5. Step 5: Conclude that guilt is the emotion least likely to be experienced by an infant younger than 6 months old, based on developmental psychology principles.