This is helpful for children's own affective regulation (Fonagy et al., 2004). As a result of this, children get to know and learn to attribute their own affects. The correct interpretation of children's facial expressions and their marked imitation by caregivers play an important role for the psychosocial development of children (Fonagy et al., 2004). The adults' tendencies to take care for children and to mimic their facial expressions, triggered by the baby schema, result in an evolutionary survival benefit for children (Alley, 1983). These morphological characteristics which can be summed up by the term baby schema (Lorenz, 1943) have a positive effect on the attachment affinity of adults and lead to a more caregiving atmosphere in mother-child interaction (Glocker et al., 2009 Langlois et al., 1995). Young children's faces show certain characteristics which could influence facial mimicry of adults and therefore they should be further examined. However, there is only few research on facial mimicry in response to affect expressive faces of children (Deschamps et al., 2014 Deschamps et al., 2012). ![]() Indeed, there are studies reporting that children's faces, compared to adults' faces, often seem to be cuter and more likeable (Luo et al., 2011) and elicit more caring behavior in adults (Alley, 1983). Most studies dealing with facial mimicry used pictures of adults' affective facial expressions as stimuli (Dimberg and Petterson, 2000 Dimberg and Thunberg, 1998). Additionally, there are some hints stating that people classified high in alexithymia showed fewer tendencies to mimic other people's facial expressions regarding the activity of the corrugator supercilii muscle (Sonnby-Borgström, 2009). An impairment of facial mimicry can be found in people with depression or dysphoria (Sloan et al., 2002 Wexler et al., 1994). Furthermore, the presentation of dynamic material seems to produce stronger affect-specific responses in contrast to static stimuli (Rymarczyk et al. People high in emotional empathy, for instance, react with stronger facial mimicry to affective stimuli in contrast to those low in emotional empathy (Dimberg and Thunberg, 2012 Harrison et al., 2010 Rymarczyk et al., 2016a). Many studies have explored different influences on facial mimicry. Regarding the nonspecific activity of corrugator supercilii and zygomaticus muscles in response to the other basic affects various results have been reported (Lundqvist, 1995 Lundqvist and Dimberg, 1995 Scarpazza et al., 2018 Wolf et al., 2005). Whereas happy facial expressions trigger the activity of zygomaticus muscle, a higher activity of corrugator supercilii muscle can be found when people are exposed to angry faces (Dimberg and Thunberg, 1998). In adulthood, facial mimicry also plays an important role concerning social regulation (Hess and Fischer, 2013).įormer studies have shown that presenting affective facial expressions leads to a discrete activity of the observer's mimic muscles (Dimberg, 1982 Dimberg, 1990). ![]() At the age of only a few weeks children are able to imitate simple mouth and tongue movements of their parents and to mimic their facial affective expressions as well (Field et al., 1982 Field et al., 1983 Meltzoff and Moore, 1977). Psychological disorders such as autism (Eack et al., 2014 McIntosh et al., 2006) or depression (Suslow et al., 2001) are associated with problems in detecting and processing affects.įrom an evolutional-biological point of view the unconscious imitation of others' facial expressions (“facial mimicry”) is an essential element of implicit-procedural interpersonal adjustment. ![]() Certain mental or psychosomatic complaints are characterized by an impairment of this ability. The ability to detect and understand affects, to empathize with people and to adjust to them in direct social contact serves as an important basis for interpersonal or social interaction.
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