Work

Novel paradigms to measure variability of behavior in early childhood: posture, gaze, and pupil dilation

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: A central challenge of investigating the underlying mechanisms of and the individual differences in young children's behavior is the measurement of the internal physiological mechanism and the involved expressive emotions. Here, we illustrate two paradigms that assess concurrent indicators of both children's social perception as well as their emotional expression. In one set of studies, children view situations while their eye movements are mapped onto a live scene. In these studies, children's internal arousal is measured via changes in their pupil dilation by using eye tracking technology. In another set of studies, we measured children's emotional expression via changes in their upper-body posture by using depth sensor imaging technology. Together, these paradigms can provide new insights into the internal mechanism and outward emotional expression involved in young children's behavior.

Source: Frontiers in Psychology

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00858

Authors: Robert Hepach, Amrisha Vaish, Michael Tomasello

Institutions: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Virginia

Language: English

Topic: Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,191