Introduction to Baby FACS (Facial Action Coding System for Infants and Young Children)

The workshop will provide an in-depth introduction to Baby FACS (Facial Action Coding System for Infants and Young Children, Oster, 2017), an objective, anatomically based coding system adapted from Ekman, Friesen, & Hager’s (2002) adult FACS. We will highlight the unique advantages of Baby FACS for research on the origins and development of facial expressions of emotion and their crucial role in infant-caregiver interaction, as well as research on facial behavior associated with emotion regulation, sensory responses, and cognitive information processing. A primer on Baby FACS coding will include detailed illustrations of Baby FACS Action Units (AUs) and modifications of FACS for infant facial morphology. Photos and video excerpts will illustrate the repertoire of infant facial expressions, including distinctive variants and modulations of infant distress and positive affect expressions. Presenters will discuss their research strategies, challenges, findings, and new directions in research with Baby FACS.