title: Role of biological-motion information in recognition of facial expressions by young children.
abstract: Data on the development of the perception of facial biological motion during preschool years are disproportionately scarce. We investigated the ability of preschoolers to recognise happy, angry, and surprised expressions, and eye-closing facial movements on the basis of facial biological motion. Children aged 4 years (n = 18) and 5-6 years (n = 19), and adults (n = 17) participated in a matching task, in which they were required to match the point-light displays of facial expressions to prototypic schematic images of facial expressions and facial movement. The results revealed that the ability to recognise facial expressions from biological motion emerges as early as the age of 4 years. This ability was evident for happy expressions at the age of 4 years; 5-6-year-olds reliably recognised surprised as well as happy expressions. The theoretical significances of these findings are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Kyoto University Primate Research Institute, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan. doi-h@nagasaki-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Doi
authors.forename: Akemi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Ai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Masataka
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003196:Computer Graphics; D003463:Cues; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D004644:Emotions; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D005556:Form Perception / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D002666:Psychology, Child; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D055815:Young Adult