Role of communication experience in facial expression coding in preschool children

Abstract

Problem Statement: The aim of our research was to analyse the coding of facial expression of basic emotions by preschool children from the point of view of the humanistic -psychological approach.Research Questions: Our empirical research is aimed to test the hypotheses that preschool children’s communication experiences with peers impact the facial expression coding accuracy.Purpose of the Study: Based on the humanistic-psychological approach we determine accuracy of emotional expression coding not only as a correspondence between expressive codes and elaborated schemes and models of expressions, but as a result of observer’s communication experience included into different interaction practices, interaction experience of preschool children with their peers.Research Methods: The experimenter asked preschool child to portray of the following emotions: happiness, surprise, fear, and sadness. The accuracy index of children’s coding of facial expressions was scored based on the responses of children-decoders (familiar and unfamiliar children boys and girls). The collected data were computed using the methods of descriptive statistics and the method of comparison of paired samples.Findings: There are no significant differences in coding of facial expressions of familiar and unfamiliar children, when the observer’s gender is controlled. The coding of the facial expressions of familiar boys is significantly higher than of unfamiliar ones, as well as familiar girls. There is no difference in coding of facial expression produced by familiar and unfamiliar girls.Conclusions: Our study differs from other researches in this field by applying observer’s response, which acts both as encoder and decoder involved into interaction circle with others, as an indicator for the accuracy of facial expression coding. Summing up we received results that communication experience mostly influences the processes of coding of facial expressions in boys if compared with girls.