DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORY OF EMOTION RECOGNITION IN SAMPLE OF IRANIAN CHILDREN

Background and Aim: The ability of emotional face perception is an essential capability for social interaction specially in the earl stages of life. The purpose of the present study is evaluation of developmental trajectory of emotional recognition among Iranian children. Materials and Method: The sample included 242 elementary school students, ranging from the first to the sixth grade. Participants were chosen based on cluster sampling in 4 region of Tehran. Data was collected using Ekman facial recognition test. One way Anova and Tukey test were used for analysis. Results: Results showed that there is a significant difference between the first graders and the sixth graders in emotion recognition performance. Also, girls were found to have better performance in emotion recognition than boys (p<0.05). Conclusion: It can be stated that accompanied by child development, the ability to emotional recognition developed through age in school age children and girls have better performance in emotional recognition in that age.