ERIC Number: EJ1050138
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0300-4430
EISSN: N/A
Using Infrared Thermography to Assess Emotional Responses to Infants
Esposito, Gianluca; Nakazawa, Jun; Ogawa, Shota; Stival, Rita; Putnick, Diane L.; Bornstein, Marc H.
Early Child Development and Care, v185 n3 p438-447 2015
Adult-infant interactions operate simultaneously across multiple domains and at multiple levels -- from physiology to behaviour. Unpackaging and understanding them, therefore, involve analysis of multiple data streams. In this study, we tested physiological responses and cognitive preferences for infant and adult faces in adult females and males. Infrared thermography was used to assess facial temperature changes as a measure of emotional valence, and we used a behavioural rating system to assess adults' expressed preferences. We found greater physiological activation in response to infant stimuli in females than males. As for cognitive preferences, we found greater responses to adult stimuli than to infant stimuli, both in males and females. The results are discussed in light of the Life History Theory. Finally, we discuss the importance of integrating the two data streams on our conclusions.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Infants, Emotional Response, Adults, Human Body, Diagnostic Tests, Heat, Gender Differences, Physiology, Interpersonal Relationship, Measures (Individuals), Responses, Cognitive Processes, Preferences, Pictorial Stimuli, Likert Scales, Infant Behavior
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Italy
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A