Babies link vocal and facial emotions, say Swiss researchers
Babies can differentiate between happiness and anger, say Swiss researchers using eye-tracking technology to record how babies react to faces after hearing voices.
This content was published on
2 minutes
swissinfo.ch/sm
Português
pt
Bebês associam emoções vocais e faciais, dizem pesquisadores suíços
In a study of 24 six-month-olds, researchers from the University of Geneva discovered that babies look at an angry face – especially the mouth – for longer if they have just heard a happy voice. This reaction demonstrates for the first time that babies have an early ability to transfer emotional information from the auditory mode to the visual.
The study took place at the Geneva BabyLabExternal link. During the first phase, the babies faced a black screen and listened to a neutral, happy or angry voice for 20 seconds. In the second phase, the babies were shown two emotional faces – one expressing happiness and the other anger – for ten seconds while the researchers used eye-tracking technology to focus on the babies’ eye movements.
They were then able to determine whether the time spent looking at one or other of the emotional faces – or specific areas of the face (the mouth or eyes) – varied according to which voice they listened to.
“If they clearly looked at one of them much longer, we could state that they are able to spot a difference between the two faces,” explains Amaya Palama, a researcher at the laboratory of sensorimotor, affective and social development in the university’s faculty of psychology and educational sciences. It seems that babies prefer what is new and surprising.
Funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, the research is part of a project designed to examine the development of childhood emotional discrimination abilities. The findings have been published in the journal PLOS ONE.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
This content was published on
The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
This content was published on
China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
This content was published on
The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
Ecological status of Swiss streams insufficient according to study
This content was published on
Pesticide use and obstructions of waterways have a particularly negative impact on sensitive organisms, completely absent in 70% of streams analysed.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
More IVF babies born in Switzerland than ever before
This content was published on
A record number of Swiss couples have had a child by successfully using IVF, according to the latest figures published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Tuesday. The FSO says 2,162 babies conceived with the help of IVF were born in 2016, compared with 2,020 in 2015 (up 7%). It also notes a…
Swiss kids still prefer outside play to smartphones
This content was published on
Nearly one in two Swiss primary school kids owns a smartphone, but their favourite activities remain playing outside, sports and meeting friends.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.