When do infants typically start to understand age and gender according to developmental stages?

Understanding age and gender is an important aspect of social and cognitive development in infants. Typically, infants start to categorize themselves and others during the categorical self phase, which emerges around 18 to 24 months of age. During this period, children begin to form a basic sense of self and develop their ability to categorize individuals by various social attributes, including age and gender.

Research indicates that by the age of 2 to 3 years, toddlers can recognize gender differences based on observable characteristics and may begin to understand their own gender identity. They also start to display gender-typed behaviors around this age, indicating an awareness of societal gender norms. This development is part of the broader cognitive growth that involves categorizing the world around them, which aligns with the emergence of the categorical self.

While other developmental stages such as empathy or adolescence do relate to social understanding, they are not directly linked to the initial comprehension of age and gender in infants. Therefore, identifying the correct time frame for when infants typically begin to understand these concepts aligns with the categorical self phase is crucial in grasping how early social cognition develops.