Sometime between years 2 and 3, children gain the ability to evaluate their own behavior against a standard. As children learn about the expectations other people have of them, they gain a better sense of the rules and standards of their family and culture and begin to internalize them. When children meet or exceed the standards or goals they perceive, they can feel the emotion of pride. Pride is different from happiness, which can be felt simply when something positive occurs. With pride, a child attributes success to her own actions–"I did it!"
References
- Lewis, M. (2000). The emergence of human emotions. In Lewis, M., & Haviland-Jones, J. M. (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.