Abstract
In infants, eye constriction-the Duchenne marker-and mouth opening appear to index the intensity of both positive and negative facial expressions. We combined eye constriction and mouth opening that co-occurred with smiles and cry-faces (respectively, the prototypic expressions of infant joy and distress) to measure emotional expression intensity. Expression intensity and heart rate were measured throughout the face-to-face/still-face (FFSF) in a sample of infants with prenatal cocaine exposure who were at risk for developmental difficulties. Smiles declined and cry-faces increased in the still-face episode, but the distribution of eye constriction and mouth opening in smiles and cry-faces did not differ across episodes of the FFSF. As time elapsed in the still face episode potential indices of intensity increased, cry-faces were more likely to be accompanied by eye constriction and mouth opening. During cry-faces there were also moderately stable individual differences in the quantity of eye constriction and mouth opening. Infant heart rate was higher during cry-faces and lower during smiles, but did not vary with intensity of expression or by episode. In sum, infants express more intense negative affect as the still-face progresses, but do not show clear differences in expressive intensity between episodes of the FFSF.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 776-785 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Infant Behavior and Development |
Volume | 36 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2013 |
Keywords
- Affect
- Facial Action Coding System
- Facial expression
- Heart rate
- Prenatal cocaine exposure
- Still-face
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Developmental and Educational Psychology