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ERIC Number: ED305183
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1989-Apr
Pages: 9
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Intermodal Perception of Fully Illuminated and Point Light Displays of Dynamic Facial Expressions by 7-Month-Old Infants.
Soken, Nelson; And Others
This study considered two questions about infants' perception of affective expressions: (1) Can infants distinguish between happiness and anger on the basis of facial motion information alone? (2) Can infants detect a correspondence between happy and angry facial and vocal expressions by different people? A total of 40 infants of 7 months of age were shown two videotapes of happy and angry expressions side-by-side while a soundtrack that was affectively appropriate to one of the displays played from a centrally located speaker. Subjects participated in either a fully illuminated or a point light condition. The 12 experimental trials consisted of 6 films of angry expressions and 6 of happy expressions. Films were counter-balanced for lateral position and sound-specification. Observers recorded fixation times to left and right displays. Infants in the point light condition showed a reliable preference for the sound-specified display, which was significant for the second half of the 12-trial session. Infants in the fully illuminated condition showed no preference for the sound-specified display. Results suggest that facial motion information is sufficient for the perception of distinct happy and angry facial expressions, and that infants can detect correspondences between happy and angry affect expressed by different people. (RH)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A