Children’s understanding of nonverbal expressions of pride

To chart the developmental path of children’s attribution of pride to others, we presented children (4 years 0 month to 11 years 11 months of age, N = 108) with video clips of head-and-face, body posture, and multi-cue (both head-and-face and body posture simultaneously) expressions that adults consider to convey pride. Across age groups, 4- and 5-year-olds did not attribute pride to any expression presented, 6- and 7-year-olds attributed pride only to the multi-cue expression, and 8- to 11-year-olds attributed pride to both the head-and-face and multi-cue expressions. Children of all ages viewed the postural expression as anger rather than pride. Developmentally, pride is first attributed only when several cues are present and only later when a single cue (head-and-face) is present.

► Children labeled head-and-face, body posture, and multi-cue expressions of pride.
► Six- to seven years olds attribute pride only to the multi-cue expression.
► Eight- to eleven-year-olds can attribute pride to the head-and-face expression.
► Children of all ages viewed the postural expression as anger rather than pride.
► Pride is first seen in an expression with multiple cues and later in a single cue.