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A New Perspective on Neonatal Smiling: Differences Between the Judgments of Expert Coders and Naive Observers
Author(s) -
Dondi Marco,
Messinger Daniel,
Colle Marta,
Tabasso Alessia,
Simion Francesca,
Barba Beatrice Dalla,
Fogel Alan
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
infancy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.361
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1532-7078
pISSN - 1525-0008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-7078.2007.tb00242.x
Subject(s) - facial action coding system , psychology , raising (metalworking) , facial expression , audiology , alertness , developmental psychology , communication , cognitive psychology , medicine , geometry , mathematics , psychiatry
To better understand the form and recognizability of neonatal smiling, 32 newborns (14 girls; M = 25.6 hr) were videorecorded in the behavioral states of alertness, drowsiness, active sleep, and quiet sleep. Baby Facial Action Coding System coding of both lip corner raising (simple or non‐Duchenne) and lip corner raising with cheek raising (Duchenne smile) was followed by a smile recognition task using 48 naive observers. Both types of smiles were detected in all behavioral states. Lip corner raising with cheek raising (Duchenne smiling) tended to predominate in active (rapid eye movement) sleep, suggesting a potential tie to early constituents of emotion. A significant portion of the typically briefer lip corner raising distinguished by expert coders was not recognized as smiling by the naive observers. These briefer actions may represent a motor phenomenon idiosyncratic to the neonatal period.