Subjective experience of children’s and adults’ faces in children and adults

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine differences in the subjective experience of children’s and adults’ faces among a sample of children and adult participants. The study was conducted on a sample of 26 ten-year-olds (12 boys and 14 girls) and 26 psychology students (10 men and 16 women). The participants were given the scale of subjective experience of faces and their task was to assess 10 photographs of adult faces and 10 photographs of children’s faces. Among a sample of adult participants four-factor structure of subjective experience of adults’ faces, including factors Happiness, Kindness, Stability, and Attractiveness, was in line with the structure established in previous research. The subjective experience of the children’s faces in adult participants can be described by three factors: Happiness, Kindness, and Attractiveness. When it comes to perception of individual attributes, adults tend to rate children’s faces more positive than adults’ faces, while children’s estimates differ depending on the attribute in question. The results were discussed in line with the ecological approach to social perception, according to which the infantile facial features’ adaptive function is to cause favorable evaluations and to promote protective and prevent aggressive behavior in adults.

Cilj istraživanja bio je da se ispitaju razlike u subjektivnom doživljaju dečijih i odraslih lica kod dece i odraslih. U istraživanju je učestvovalo 26 desetogodišnjaka (12 dečaka i 14 devojčica) i 26 studenata (10 muškaraca i 16 žena). Zadatak ispitanika bio je da na Skali subjektivnog doživljaja lica procene 10 fotografija dečijih lica i 10 fotografija odraslih lica. Na uzorku odraslih ispitanika replicirana je četvorofaktorska struktura subjektivnog doživljaja odraslih lica iz prethodnih istraživanja (faktori Sreća, Dobrota, Stabilnost, Privlačnost), dok se subjektivni doživljaj dečijih lica kod odraslih ispitanika može opisati sa tri faktora (Sreća, Dobrota, Privlačnost). Ustanovljeno je da na pojedinačnim atributima subjektivnog doživljaja odrasli ocenjuju dečija lica pozitivnije nego odrasla lica, dok se dečije procene razlikuju u zavisnosti od ispitivanog atributa. Rezultati su razmatrani u skladu sa ekološkim pristupom socijalnoj percepciji, prema kome infantilne karakteristike lica imaju adaptivnu funkciju da kod odraslih izazovu povoljne evaluacije koje podstiču zaštitničko, a sprečavaju agresivno ponašanje.