A Study to Compare Quantitatively the Amount of Change in Facial Expression of Pre-Schoolers and Kindergarteners in Situations Lacking Contact with Another Person and in Social Situations. Occasional Paper No. 5.

This report presents an investigation of three hypotheses concerning facial expressions in young children: (1) children seem to emit the same number of changes in facial expressions when they are alone as when they are in contact with another person; (2) the number of facial expressions made when children are along, compared with when they are in contact, with another person, does not vary with age between 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds; and (3) there are no differences in the number of facial changes made between boys and girls when they are alone and when they are with another person. A total of 15 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds were observed watching soundless animal movies in a natural classroom setting. An observer quantitatively recorded all changes in facial expression made by each subject as he viewed the movies both by himself and with a friend. Results confirmed only the second hypothesis, and showed that the children studied did make more facial expressions when accompanied by a friend than when alone and that the girls made significantly more facial changes than the boys. (SDH)