Cognitive Cues are More Compelling than Facial Cues in Determining Adults' Reactions towards Young Children

Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated the significant influence that both children's facial features (Lorenz, 1943) and children's cognitive expressions (Bjorklund, Hernández Blasi, and Periss, 2010) have on adults' perception of young children. However, until now, these two types of cues have been studied independently. The present study contrasted these two types of cues simultaneously in a group of college students. To this purpose, we designed five experimental conditions (Consistent, Inconsistent, Mature-Face, ImmatureFace, and Faces-Only) in which we varied the presentation of a series of mature and immature vignettes (including two previously studied types of thinking: natural thinking and supernatural thinking) associated with a series of more mature and less mature children's faces. Performance in these conditions was contrasted with data from a Vignettes-Only condition taken from Bjorklund et al. (2010). Results indicated that cognitive cues were more powerful than facial cues in determining adults' perceptions of young children. From an evolutionary developmental perspective, we suggest that facial cues are more relevant to adults during infancy than during the preschool period, when, with the development of spoken language, the verbalized expressions of children's thoughts become the principal cues influencing adults' perceptions, with facial cues playing a more secondary role.

Children's supernatural thinking as a signalling behaviour in early childhood

“…In our previous studies (Bjorklund et al, 2010;Hern andez Blasi et al, 2015;Periss et al, 2012), we found that the effect of children's supernatural and natural thinking on adults differed in terms of adults' expressions of positive and negative affect, intelligence assessment, and helplessness feelings towards young children, possibly provoking distinctive caregiving attitudes. To assess such effects, we presented adult participants with pairs of short vignettes, one depicting immature thinking attributed to a young child and a second depicting mature thinking attributed to another child.…”

“…The sample consisted of 137 adults (109 female; M age = 21.7 years, SD = 4 years) attending a public urban university in eastern Spain, 36 of whom were part of the Hern andez Blasi et al (2015) sample. Main characteristics of the two subgroups that constituted the sample for this study were basically the same in terms of age and sex distribution, and socioeconomic status (mainly middle class, typical of most college students in Spain).…”

“…The general methodology, reported in detail in Hern andez Blasi et al (2015), was based on Bjorklund et al (2010) and Periss et al (2012). Participants were assigned to one of six between-subjects conditions in which they had to make a series of decisions about four different stimulus pairs.…”

“…In recent years, we have focused our research efforts on identifying and understanding some potential mechanisms involved in adults' caregiving responses during early childhood (Bjorklund, Hern andez Blasi, & Periss, 2010;Hern andez Blasi, Bjorklund, & Ruiz Soler, 2015;Periss, Hern andez Blasi, & Bjorklund, 2012). Namely, we have examined the potential role of some forms of immature thinking as contributing to adults' perception of children, such as those described by Piaget (1926Piaget ( , 1929 in young children during the preoperational period, for example animism (a bias to attribute life and human motivations/cognitions to inanimate things) and finalism (a bias to attribute specific purposes or 'reasons for being this way' to events).…”

“…In our most recent research, we found that cognitive cues are more powerful than facial cues in evoking adults' positive reactions to young children (Hern andez Blasi et al, 2015). In this research, we presented Spanish college students with the typical series of ' (immature) [This girl (B)/Julia] told her mum one day after school, 'Mommy, today at recess, a big cold wind came.…”