Emotional recognition in children aged 3 to 5: Effects of the nature of the support (image/photograph) and the type of visual cues processed (global, directed, focused)

The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of the nature of visual supports (image and photograph) and of the visual cues on these supports (global, directed and focused cues) on emotional recognition. Four emotions (happiness, sadness, anger and fear) were tested in recognition. 60 children from 3 to 5 had to recognize emotions conveyed through images and photographs showing the whole body (global visual cues), or a part of it: face (directed cues) and mouth or eyes (focused cues). Overall, the results showed that between 3 and 5, the images are better recognized than the photographs, the expressive face better recognized than a part of it or the body position. However, the different variables overlapped: interaction effects highlighted that emotional recognition is influenced by the type of supports, cues and emotions. This study confirms the multidimensional aspect of emotional recognition in young children.