15.14: Expression of Emotion

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Amanda Taintor

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The Importance of Emotional Expressions

Children express their emotions early in infancy through facial expressions, vocalizations, and body language.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Infant crying. ([1])

Infants respond more positively to adult vocalizations containing a positive affective tone (Fernald, 1993). Tronick (1989) describes how the expression of emotion is related to emotional regulation and communication between mother and infant: “the emotional expressions of the infant and the caretaker function to allow them to mutually regulate their interactions . . . the infant and the adult are participants in an affective communication system.” (p.112). It appears the experience of positive emotions contributes significantly to emotional well-being and psychological health (Fredrickson, 2000, 2003; Panksepp, 2001). Neurophysiology and cognitive, social, and emotional factors play a part in the developmental process of social smiling (Messinger & Fogel, 2007). The ability to use words to express emotions gives young children a valuable tool in gaining assistance or social support (Saarni et al., 2006). Temperament may also play a role in children's expression of emotion. Young children's expressions of positive and negative emotions impact developing social relationships. Positive emotions appeal to social partners and enable relationships to form, while problematic management or expression of negative emotions leads to difficulty in social relationships (Denham & Weissberg, 2004). The use of emotion-related words appears to be associated with how likable preschoolers are to their peers: children who use emotion-related words are typically better liked by their classmates (Fabes at al., 2001).[2]

[1] Image by Joy Poeng is licensed CC BY-NC

[2] California Department of Education (CDE Press). Development Foundations: Social-Emotional Development . Is used with permission