Proffles of Emotional Development: Individual Differences in Facial and Vocal Expression of Emotion during the Second and Third Years of Life

Abstract

This study is a third-year (34 months) follow-up investigation of the socioemotional behaviours of preterm and fullterm children previously seen at four points in time during the first two years of life. A total of 42 mother/ child pairs were seen for videotaped mother/child and child/peer play sessions. The tapes were coded on a second-to-second basis using Izard's MAX facial affect coding system and a vocal affect coding system. Data analysis focused on the contribution of the individual difference variables of gender, birth status, attachment classification, and maternal contingency behaviour, to children's expressive development. Expressive patterns in the third year were also compared with those obtained during the children's second year. Results indicated that contrary to developmental theory, facial expressivity does not decrease, at least during this developmental period, and moreover, that vocal affective expression increases. It is suggested that what children learn in development, is greater flexibility in the use of different systems to communicate affect, and greater facility in modulating expressivity according to context. Birth status was found to continue to affect the nature of affective development into the third year; preterm children were less vocally expressive than their fullterm counterparts, and preterm females showed greater facial negativity. Few other gender differences in expressivity were apparent, although mothers treated their children differentially. Moderate maternal contingency in infancy was related to greater vocal affectivity in children. Insecure attachment was associated with a degree of apparent tension and affective disharmony.

Parental Socialization of Emotion

“…During mother-child interactions, mothers have been found to be more emotionally expressive to daughters than sons, especially in regard to positive emotion (Gamer et al, 1997;Malatesta et al, 1989;see Brody, 1993). Although Malatesta-Magai et al (1994) did not find that mothers showed more positive facial affect to daughters than sons in a play session with 34-montholds, they did find that mothers expressed more positive emotion vocally. Moreover, there is some evidence that parents express more anger or general negative affectivity toward their sons (e.g., Garner et al, in press), although sometimes vocally and not facially (Malatesta-Magai et al, 1994).…”

Dissociations between psychobiologic reactivity and emotional expression in children

“…Insofar as these processes affect emotional reactions and are themselves affected by gender, such processes could lead to differences in girls' and boys' reactions to emotional experiences, including stressful situations like the venipunctures. It is also possible, however, that socialization in¯uences emerging biologically based processes as well as emotional expressiveness, again highlighting the potentially in¯uential role of social factors on emotion development (e.g., Malatesta-Magai et al, 1994). In any case, further research will be required to determine the mechanism(s) underlying gender differences in children's distress reactions.…”

“…Females are more expressive than males, in positive as well as negative emotions. Gender differences are evident in children as young as 2±3 years of age and in adults of all ages (Katz, Kellerman, & Siegel, 1980;Eisenberg et al, 1988;Casey, 1993;Malatesta-Magai, Leak, Tesman, & Shepard, 1994;however, see Strayer & Roberts, 1997;Kring & Gordon, 1998). The only emotion for which these widely observed gender differences have not been found is anger: males are often more expressive of anger than females (Malatesta-Magai et al, 1994;Buntaine & Costenbader, 1997).…”

“…Additionally, prior research suggests that extremely reactive children tend to be more negative emotionally, shy, and socially inhibited than nonreactive children (e.g., Porges et al, 1989;Kagan, 1997). (3) CVR-expression concordance was predicted to be stronger in girls than in boys because of the latter's tendency to inhibit expression of emotion (e.g., Malatesta-Magai et al, 1994). (4) Consistent with prior research on gender differences in children's expression of emotion (e.g., Cole, 1986;MalatestaMagai et al, 1994), girls were expected to be more expressive of both positive and negative emotions than boys.…”

Cardiac reactivity is associated with changes in negative emotion in 24‐month‐olds

“…Although gender differences in affect are often reported (e.g., Maccoby, Snow, & Jacklin, 1984;Malatesta-Magai, Leak, Tesman, & Shepard, 1994), these effects are not always reported, especially when examining mean differences in the temperament literature (Buss et al, 2004;Kagan, Reznick, Clarke, Snidman, & Garcia-Coll, 1984;Rothbart & Bates, 1998). In addition, mean levels of cardiac reactivity rarely differ for boys and girls (e.g., Alkon et al, 2003;Boyce et al, 2001); however, there has been increasing evidence that the association between cardiac measures and emotional behaviors may differ for boys and girls.…”