Children are known to rely on others’ facial expressions to guide their behavior and to use their own affective state to elicit desired reactions. Recent facial mimicry literature argues that...Show moreChildren are known to rely on others’ facial expressions to guide their behavior and to use their own affective state to elicit desired reactions. Recent facial mimicry literature argues that automatic imitation of others’ emotional expressions can be altered based on social motivations. The present study aimed to explore the impact of learning about children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors on young adults’ facial mimicry to children’s sad dynamic displays. Potential moderations of implicit gender bias and time spent with children were also investigated. Our final sample included 25 young adults (80% females) between the ages of 18 and 30. Participants’ frowning responses to primary-school aged children’s video displays of sad facial expressions were measured via facial electromyography (fEMG). Using a within-subject design, facial mimicry was assessed before and after learning about children’s behaviors. Participants additionally estimated a total weekly hours they spend with children and completed an adapted Implicit Association Task (IAT) measuring their implicit gender bias towards children’s behaviors. Results did not reveal any significant change in young adults’ facial responses after learning about children’s behaviors, suggesting that internalizing behaviors did not elicit increased mimicry compared to externalizing behaviors and baseline. An interaction of participants’ implicit gender bias was found with behavior and time (p = .04). Adults with greater positive bias tended to mimic internalizing children more than externalizing children. Lastly, no moderation of time spent with children was found, which might be a result of a lack of variability in the sample. The present study tentatively points towards a moderation of implicit gender bias on adults’ affiliative motivations. Prevention and intervention programs may be needed to increase caregivers and teachers’ sensitivity and responsivity to high risk children’s emotional expressions.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
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Eating problems and emotional eating in childhood are associated with eating disorders in adolescence. Eating problems and emotional eating can develop due to problems with mood and stress...Show moreEating problems and emotional eating in childhood are associated with eating disorders in adolescence. Eating problems and emotional eating can develop due to problems with mood and stress regulation or appetite regulation. External factors, such as maternal caregiving, can also play a role. Mood, stress and appetite regulation are regulated by the brain but also by the gut. In recent research, the gut has been linked to depression and anxiety, but more research is needed on its role in eating disorders and their precursors. In this study, we explored the link between two precursors of eating disorders, eating problems and emotional eating, and the gut microbiota as well as the moderating role of maternal caregiving. We analysed longitudinal data from the BIBO (Basale Invloeden op de Baby Ontwikkeling) study of Nijmegen university. The data was used to look at whether clusters of bacteria in infancy predict eating problems at 2.5 and 6 years old and emotional eating at 6 and 14 years old. Furthermore, maternal caregiving was added as a moderator to see its role in the potential relationship between the gut and eating problems and emotional eating. Results revealed that there were no significant differences in eating problems (at 2.5 and 6 years old) and emotional eating (at 6 and 14 years old) between the clusters. Furthermore, there was no moderating effect of maternal caregiving on the relationship between microbiota cluster and eating problems and emotional eating. This study suggests that infant microbiota does not predict eating problems and emotional eating in childhood and adolescence in this sample. However, these findings open new paths for future research; with higher taxonomic resolution rather than clusters of bacteria, larger sample sizes, and finally the addition of measures of relevant variables, such as emotion regulation strategies and measures of parent-child relations, such as attachment and parental feeding practices.Show less
Adults’ facial responses to children’s anger expressions contribute to emotion socialization. As children’s gender and adults’ gender-emotion biases predict variation in other socialization...Show moreAdults’ facial responses to children’s anger expressions contribute to emotion socialization. As children’s gender and adults’ gender-emotion biases predict variation in other socialization behaviours, we explored whether these factors would predict adults’ facial responses to children’s anger expressions in the present study. Furthermore, we investigated whether learning contextual information about the children would modulate adults’ responses using a within-subjects study design. Fifty-five participants (46 women, mean age = 21 years) viewed neutral-to-angry morphs while their facial responses were recorded using electromyography. This task was repeated after they learned to associate the children with internalizing or externalizing behaviours. Gender-emotion bias was measured using a modified implicit association test (IAT). Prior to the learning task, adults showed a pattern of corrugator (frown) activation and deactivation in response to children’s anger. Neither children’s gender nor adults’ bias predicted facial responses. After the learning task, a similar pattern of corrugator activity was nonsignificant in response to girls. Adults showed greater corrugator deactivation in response to boys, although neither their gender bias nor children’s behaviour predicted facial responses. These findings provide more evidence that learning about children’s social context can modulate adults’ facial responses to children’s emotional expressions. The implications for research on gendered emotion socialization are discussed.Show less
Throughout development, children rely heavily on social referencing to help them make difficult choices and to regulate their emotions and behavior. The expressions and facial mimicry of parents,...Show moreThroughout development, children rely heavily on social referencing to help them make difficult choices and to regulate their emotions and behavior. The expressions and facial mimicry of parents, teachers and other adults who are part of a child’s life play a large role in this process. Although it was first believed that this mechanism was just another part of motor mimicry, results of previous studies tell us otherwise. It appears that expressions and mimicry are strongly influenced by context, such as likeability, bias, and similarity. Based on this knowledge, the current study looked at the effect of externalizing behavior and gender of a child on the automatic facial responses of adults and took a possible moderating effect of an existing gender bias into account. The sample consisted of 25 participants who completed two EMG tasks to measure facial mimicry and the IAT to measure gender bias. Results show that there appears to be a difference in mimicry when looking at happy boys. Participants frown more towards happy externalizing boys than towards happy internalizing boys, a possible sign of disapproval. Bias also appeared to have an effect. Only participants with a lower bias score showed the aforementioned behavior towards happy boys, possibly because of the influence of expectations and empathy. The results show us that a small amount of information can influence the way adults behave towards children, even if the viewer is not familiar with the child.Show less
