Making faces: posed facial expression, self-competence, and personality

This study examined the relationships between posed facial expression, childrens' perceived self-competence, and teachers' perceptions of competence. Third- and fifth-grade children completed the Self-Perception Profile for Children, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and the Junior Self-Monitoring Scale for Children. Individual differences in posing accuracy were determined with a videotaped acting task. Children who were more able to produce prototypical expressions obtained higher teacher ratings of academic competence; however, posing ability bore little relationship to children's self-competence. Gender differences in feelings of self-competence, but not in sending ability, were observed. Extraversion and self-monitoring were unrelated to ability to pose emotional expressions.