R. Soussignan et B. Schaal, CHILDRENS FACIAL RESPONSIVENESS TO ODORS - INFLUENCES OF HEDONIC VALENCE OF ODOR, GENDER, AGE, AND SOCIAL PRESENCE, Developmental psychology, 32(2), 1996, pp. 367-379
Facial responsiveness to pleasant and unpleasant odors was examined in
5- to 12 year-old children in either an alone condition (AC)or a soci
al presence condition (SPC). The children failed to display reflex-lik
e patterns, but they exhibited facial configurations that varied accor
ding to the odor valence and the social condition. Girls evinced more
smiles than did boys, but this sex difference was significant only in
response to unpleasant odors in the SPC. Furthermore, untrained observ
ers were able to accurately identify the children's facial responses t
o unpleasant odors in the AC only and to pleasant odors in the SPC onl
y. These findings (a) suggest that facial responsiveness to odors is f
lexible and able to reorganize when display rules operate and (b) supp
ort the emotional and communicative functions of human facial behavior
.