The Facial Expression of Anger in Seven-Month-Old Infante

Abstract

Whether anger can be observed reliably in facial expressions as early as 7 mo. of age in a sample of 30 infants was determined. The influence of the following variables on anger responses was assessed: infant''s familiarity with the frustrator (mother vs. stranger), repetition of trials and sex of the child. Correlations were obtained between the expression of anger and cognitive developmental level, maternal perceptions of irascibility (temperament), time since eating or sleeping and facial flushing. Dependent variables included facial expression components as well as ratings of facial flushing. The capacity to express anger is well developed by 7 mo. of age: facial patterning was detected reliably in the absence of contextual information, and repeated frustrations increased the amount of anger shown. No significant relationships were found between facial expression of anger and temperament, drive states or cognitive developmental scores.