Abstract
Gaze direction cues and facial expressions have been shown to influence object processing in infants. For example, infants around 12 months of age utilize others' gaze directions and facial expressions to regulate their own behaviour toward an ambiguous target (i.e., social referencing). However, the mechanism by which social signals influence overt orienting in infants is unclear. The present study examined the effects of static gaze direction cues and facial expressions (neutral vs. fearful) on overt orienting using a gaze-cueing paradigm in 6- and 12-month-old infants. Two experiments were conducted: in Experiment 1, a face with a leftward or rightward gaze direction was used as a cue, and a face with a forward gaze direction was added in Experiment 2. In both experiments, an effect of facial expression was found in 12-month-olds; no effect was found in 6-month-olds. Twelve-month-old infants exhibited more rapid overt orienting in response to fearful expressions than neutral expressions, irrespective of gaze direction. These findings suggest that gaze direction information and facial expressions independently influence overt orienting in infants, and the effect of facial expression emerges earlier than that of static gaze direction. Implications for the development of gaze direction and facial expression processing systems are discussed.
Highlights
The face provides important signals in human social interaction
Results showed that 12-month-olds exhibited more rapid orientation toward the peripheral target when a fearful expression was presented as a central cue than when a neutral expression was presented, irrespective of gaze congruency
The failure of fearful expressions to significantly alter responses in 6-month-olds suggests that the faster saccadic reaction time (SRT) associated with fearful expression presentation in 12-month-olds may not reflect a simple orienting response triggered by salient stimuli
Summary
The face provides important signals in human social interaction. Eye gaze direction informs us of stimuli that are salient to others, and facial expressions convey others’ mental states. If infants’ overt orienting responses are modulated by the interaction of gaze direction and facial expression information, infants should regard fearful gaze direction cues as indicative of potential danger, as suggested by previous studies of infant object processing. It follows that infants should exhibit more rapid saccades in response to a fearful gaze-cued target than to a neutral one.
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