Cognitive cues are more compelling than facial cues in determining adults’ reactions towards young children

Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated the significant influence that both children’s facial features (Lorenz, 1943) and children’s cognitive expressions (Bjorklund, Hernández Blasi, and Periss, 2010) have on adults’ perception of young children. However, until now, these two types of cues have been studied independently. The present study contrasted these two types of cues simultaneously in a group of college students. To this purpose, we designed five experimental conditions (Consistent, Inconsistent, Mature-Face, Immature-Face, and Faces-Only) in which we varied the presentation of a series of mature and immature vignettes (including two previously studied types of thinking: natural thinking and supernatural thinking) associated with a series of more mature and less mature children’s faces. Performance in these conditions was contrasted with data from a Vignettes-Only condition taken from Bjorklund et al. (2010). Results indicated that cognitive cues were more powerful than facial cues in determining adults’ perceptions of young children. From an evolutionary developmental perspective, we suggest that facial cues are more relevant to adults during infancy than during the preschool period, when, with the development of spoken language, the verbalized expressions of children’s thoughts become the principal cues influencing adults’ perceptions, with facial cues playing a more secondary role.