Article summary with Comparison of sadness, anger, and fear facial expressions when toddlers look at their mothers by Buss & Kiel - 2004

In the past, researchers suggested that the facial expression of sadness in toddlers may be more effective for receiving care than the expression of other emotions. This study aims to show that this is indeed the case and fills in a gap, as there has not been many research about the facial expression of toddlers.

What was the reason to conduct this study?

Emotion regulation is something that is developed as children age. Toddlers still depend on their mothers in this aspect, as being comforted by them leads to the reduction of distress. They receive this comfort by expressing this distress, for example by crying or by looking at the mother. Therefore, the expression of negative emotions serves as a tool to receive care. Mothers react in a certain way to different emotions. For example, the expression of anger is often ignored, while sadness leads to comforting, warmth and play. In this way, the modulation of facial expressions is reinforced.

How was the research conducted?

In this study, researchers investigated whether toddlers of 24 months modulate their facial expressions when interacting with their mothers after a frustrating or threatening situation. The research was conducted according to the following questions:

1. What was the predominant distress expression in each episode?
2. Did toddlers express sadness more than the target emotion when looking at their mother?
3. Did the expression of sadness increase in frequency and intensity during looks at their mother?
4. Did the expression of sadness occur more when toddlers looked at their mother than when they were not looking at their mother?

The research was conducted with 71 toddlers, mainly Caucasian and from middle-class families. They were placed in a room with an invisible camera. The episodes of threat were created by a stranger approaching the child, kneeling close by and staring at the kid in silence. The episodes of frustration were created by removing a toy from the child, and by placing a toy in a locked, transparent box near the child. Subsequently, the intensity and frequency of facial expressions of different emotions were measured.

What are the results of the study?

The results of this study show that in the episodes with the stranger, fear facial expressions were expressed twice as often as expressions of sadness. In the episodes where the toy was removed, facial expressions of anger were expressed almost three times as often as expressions of sadness. In the episodes with the toy locked in a box, sadness was expressed more frequently than anger. The researchers demonstrated that the toddlers were more likely to express sadness than anger or fear during looks at their mother, and that the expressions of sadness were more intense than the expressions of anger or fear.

What are the limitations of the study?

The study focused solely on toddlers, therefore no conclusions can be drawn about the development of the ability of children to modulate facial expressions. Furthermore, the mothers were instructed not to interfere or react to their children. Therefore, there is no information on how mothers react to the expression of different emotions.

In conclusion, 24-month-old children show increased frequency and intensity of sadness expression when looking at their mother in situations of fear or frustration.