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Age-congruency and contact effects in body expression recognition from point-light displays (PLD)
Petra M J Pollux1, Frouke Hermens1, Alexander P Willmott2
1School of Psychology, University of Lincoln , Lincoln , United Kingdom.
Peerj
|December 21, 2016
Summary
This study found no own-age bias in recognizing body expressions. Children showed better recognition of older adults
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Cognition
- Human Aging
Background:
- Recognizing body expressions is a vital social skill.
- Age of both observer and observed may influence expression recognition.
- A potential 'own-age bias' suggests better recognition of one's own age group.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of observer and observed age on body expression recognition.
- To test for an 'own-age bias' in emotion perception from body movements.
- To explore age-related differences in categorizing emotional body language.
Main Methods:
- Utilized whole-body point-light displays of children, young adults, and older adults (>70 years).
- Participants from the same three age groups viewed displays expressing six emotions.
- Two experimental variations were employed to assess recognition accuracy.
Main Results:
- No evidence of an 'own-age bias' was found across age groups.
- Children demonstrated enhanced recognition of 'active emotions' (anger, happiness) from older adults.
- This improved recognition in children correlated with greater daily life exposure to older adults.
Conclusions:
- Age does not inherently create a bias in recognizing body expressions.
- Experience and exposure, particularly for children interacting with older adults, significantly impact recognition.
- Age-related changes in mobility may affect body expression categorization primarily in young children.
