The Moving Window Technique: A Window Into Developmental Changes in Attention During Facial Emotion Recognition. Issue 4 (17th December 2012)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Birmingham, Elina; Meixner, Tamara; Iarocci, Grace; Kanan, Christopher; Smilek, Daniel; Tanaka, James W.
• Is Part Of: Child development. Volume 84:Issue 4(2013:Jul./Aug.)
• Page Start: 1407
• Page End: 1424
• Publication Date: 2012-12-17
• Subjects: Child development -- Periodicals; Child psychology -- Periodicals; Child Development -- Periodicals; Child Development; Pediatrics -- Periodicals; Pedicatrics; 305.231
• DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12039
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0009-3920

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="cdev12039-abs-0001"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>The strategies children employ to selectively attend to different parts of the face may reflect important developmental changes in facial emotion recognition. Using the Moving Window Technique (MWT), children aged 5–12 years and adults (<italic>N</italic> = 129) explored faces with a mouse‐controlled window in an emotion recognition task. An age‐related increase in attention to the left eye emerged at age 11–12 years and reached significance in adulthood. This left‐eye bias is consistent with previous eye tracking research and findings of a perceptual bias for the left side of faces. These results suggest that a strategic attentional bias to the left eye begins to emerge at age 11–12 years and is likely established sometime in adolescence.</p> </abstract>