Babies can tell when adults fake emotions

A new study shows that children can tell if adults mean the gestures they make. This finding could impact the way caregivers tackle kids' behaviour.

In a study recently published in Infancy: The Official Journal of the International Society on Infant Studies, psychology researchers Sabrina Chiarella and Diane Poulin-Dubois, from Concordia University, demonstrated that infants can detect whether a person's emotions are justifiable given a particular context.

They show that babies understand how the meaning of an experience is directly linked to the expressions that follow, reports Science Daily.

The implications are significant, especially for caregivers. "Our research shows that babies cannot be fooled into believing something that causes pain and results in pleasure. Adults often try to shield infants from distress by putting on a happy face following a negative experience."