Emotional Reactions of Preschool Children while Exploring and Playing with a Novel Object

Abstract

Children (N = 42) ranging in age from 3 years. 6 months to 6 years, 2 months were observed while exploring and playing with a novel object in their nursery schools for 15 minutes. Video recordings were made of the children's gross motor behavior and facial movements. Segments of exploration and play with the novel object were identified according to Hutt's morphological criteria for these activities, and facial movements for 20 of the children were coded with Izard's MAX. The results show that (among these 20 children) interest and joy were the most prominent emotional reactions during both activities, that there was no difference in the amount of interest shown, as measured by facial expression, between the two activities. and that children exhibited more joy during play than during exploration.