The 12th European Conference On Facial Expression
University of Geneva, Switzerland
Infant Smiling Dynamics And Perceived
Positive Emotion
D. Messinger, T. Cassel, Z. Ambadar, & J. Cohn
Facial Expression as a Window on Perceptual-Cognitive
Processing, Hedonics, & Affective Communication in Infants
July, 2008
What Infant Smiles Tell Us About
Positive Emotion: An Automated Approach
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How do infants smile?
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Not Yes/No,
Smile strength (AU12)
but how
Cheek Raise / Eye Constriction (AU6) much?
Lip Parting - Mouth Opening (AUs 25/26/27)
How are actions associated in time?
Do they predict rated positive emotion?
Automated Measurement
Now:
Feature
Point
Tracking
AFA3
Later Today:
Other
Approaches
Other
Topics
AFA4 + …
Reliability Correlations:
Manual FACS & Automated AFA3
Smile
Mouth
Strength
Opening
Range
.54 - .96
53 - .96
Mean
.76
.83
Lengthy Smiles
Infant
Sequence Duration Smile Duration
Seconds
Seconds
A
6
4
B
6
6
C
8
6
D
15
14
E
6
5
e
-1
-2
-3
-1
Manual/Ordinal FACS Perspective -2
Some Ebb And Flow In These Smiles -3
S
S
O
3
C
O
O
C
S
O
CS
SSS
O
CCCC
2
S
SSSO OS
O
S
O
O
S
C
C
O
S S
SC
S S
C
S
O
C
C
C
S
3
S
S
O
O
0
C
S
4
S
O
C
S
S
1
S
OO
C
S OC
S
O
C
SO
C
SO
CO
CO
CO
C
C
C
S
C
S
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
SCCCC CS SC
S
C
S C C
S
OOO
O OO
CC S
O
O
SSC
O
SS
O
C
O OO
O
S
O O
O
O
OO O O
C
SCCC
C CC O
C
S
O
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
2
1
Codes & Ratings
Codes & Ratings
4
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Seconds
S
Smile Strength;
O
Mouth Opening;
C
Cheek Raising; Positive Emotion:
Parent
Undergrad.
Continuous/Automated Perspective:
Ebb And Flow In These Smiles
psy.miami.edu/faculty/dmessinger/
Actions Associated In Time
AU6 (Manual)
.68
Smile Strength
Auto/Manual
.58
.21/.51
Mouth Opening
Auto/Manual
Half Speed
Students & parents rate images similarly
8
Positive Emotion Rating
U
P
M
6
U
P
M
U
U
P
M
U
M
P
M
U
P
P
M
4
M
U
M
U
P
P
2
Vertical bars are the standard deviations of the parent sample.
0
P
M
U
1
31
61
Parent Mean
Mother of Infant
Undergraduate Mean
91
121
151
Frame Number
psy.miami.edu/faculty/dmessinger/
181
211
Students & Parents Rating Still Images
Students & Parents Rating Still Images
Positive Feeling
Automated Measurements Positive Ratings of
Images
Automated: Mean of Smile Strength
& Mouth Opening
Emotion Ratings Of Non-expert Observers
Figure 1. Screenshot of Continuous Rating Software
Switch to mouse control
Menu
Scaling
Bar
Picture
Frame
Rating
Cursor
psy.miami.edu/faculty/dmessinger/
Positive
Emotional
Valence
Ratings
Continuous Measurements Predict
Continuous Emotion Ratings
Emotion as a Continuous Process
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Infant interactive smiles can be lengthy
They involve the movement of actions linked
in time
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All actions predict rated positive emotion
(univariate)
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Smile strength, AU6, Mouth Opening
Smile strength and mouth opening predict
independently
Infant positive emotion is a multipeaked
process with several linked indices
Issues for later today

Measurement

Interaction
Thanks!
BabyFACS Matrix (3 + None)
BabyFACS Matrix
psy.miami.edu/faculty/dmessinger/