Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 18, 2026

A Within-subjects Experimental Protocol to Assess the Effects of Social Input on Infant EEG
08:20

A Within-subjects Experimental Protocol to Assess the Effects of Social Input on Infant EEG

Published on: May 3, 2017

Four- and six-month-old infants' visual responses to joy, anger, and neutral expressions

J D LaBarbera, C E Izard, P Vietze

    Child Development
    |June 1, 1976
    PubMed

    Insights

    Four- and six-month-old infants showed a preference for viewing joyful facial expressions over angry or neutral ones. This suggests infants can discriminate emotions earlier than previously thought.

    Area of Science:

    • Developmental Psychology
    • Infant Perception
    • Emotional Development

    Background:

    • Understanding infant emotional discrimination is crucial for developmental psychology.
    • Previous research suggested limited early-stage emotional discrimination abilities in infants.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate the capacity of 4- and 6-month-old infants to discriminate between different facial emotional expressions.
    • To determine if infants show differential attention to expressions of joy, anger, and neutrality.

    Main Methods:

    • Twenty-four infants (12 4-month-olds, 12 6-month-olds) were presented with slides of three facial expressions.
    • Researchers monitored the duration of the first visual fixation to each presented facial expression.

    Main Results:

    • Infants demonstrated a significantly longer visual fixation duration towards the "joy" expression compared to "anger" or "neutral" expressions.
    • This preferential looking suggests a basic ability to differentiate emotional cues.

    Conclusions:

    • Infants as young as 4 and 6 months appear capable of discriminating between basic emotional expressions.
    • These findings imply that the development of emotion perception may occur earlier than previously established.

    More Related Videos

    Gaze in Action: Head-mounted Eye Tracking of Children's Dynamic Visual Attention During Naturalistic Behavior07:09

    Gaze in Action: Head-mounted Eye Tracking of Children's Dynamic Visual Attention During Naturalistic Behavior

    Published on: November 14, 2018

    Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm06:07

    Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

    Published on: May 15, 2019

    Related Concept Videos

    Support Reactions in Three Dimensions01:27

    Support Reactions in Three Dimensions

    Support reactions in three dimensions help maintain the stability and equilibrium of various structures and systems. These reactions prevent the system from translating and rotating, ensuring the design can withstand external forces and perform its intended function efficiently and safely. Some of the supports providing support reactions in three dimensions are discussed below:
    Ball and Socket Joint is one of the supports allowing free rotation about any axis. This freedom of rotation is...
    Emotional Expression01:26

    Emotional Expression

    Emotional expression encompasses how individuals convey their emotions through verbal communication and non-verbal cues. These non-verbal actions include facial expressions, body language, and physical gestures, such as frowning or smiling. Among these, facial expressions play a crucial role in emotional expression and are understood universally, indicating a biological basis for how humans communicate emotions.
    Universal Facial Expressions
    Psychologist Paul Ekman identified seven basic...
    Labeling Emotion01:20

    Labeling Emotion

    Emotional labeling is a cognitive process that involves identifying and naming one's emotions, such as anger, fear, happiness, or sadness. It allows individuals to recognize and express their internal emotional states, a critical aspect of emotional regulation and communication. Labeling emotions requires more than mere recognition; it also involves drawing upon memory and contextual cues to understand the current situation and apply a corresponding emotional label. For instance, feeling...
    Facial Feedback Hypothesis01:24

    Facial Feedback Hypothesis

    Charles Darwin proposed that facial expressions are an evolutionary adaptation for communication. He argued that these expressions are not influenced by culture but are universal across species. For example, a snarling expression with exposed teeth signals a threat in many animals, including humans. Darwin also suggested that displaying an emotion can intensify the feeling. Smiling, for example, could enhance one's sense of happiness. This idea laid the foundation for understanding the role of...
    Socioemotional Development during Infancy01:30

    Socioemotional Development during Infancy

    Socio-emotional development in infancy is primarily shaped by early emotional responses and social connections, with temperament playing a central role. Temperament refers to the consistent patterns in an individual's emotional and behavioral responses, observable even in infancy. By examining temperament, researchers can better understand an infant's unique ways of interacting with the world, influencing subsequent personality and socio-emotional growth.
    Primary Temperament Types
    Stella Chess...
    Non-Verbal Cues01:29

    Non-Verbal Cues

    Non-verbal communication extends beyond gestures and facial expressions to include vocal elements known as paralanguage. Paralanguage consists of non-verbal vocal cues such as pitch, loudness, speech rate, pauses, and non-verbal vocalizations like laughter, sighs, and moans. These elements not only accompany speech but also provide critical emotional and contextual information.The Role of Paralanguage in CommunicationParalanguage adds depth to spoken language by conveying emotions and...