Author(s)

Laura Beatriz Oros^1,2*, María Cristina Richaud de Minzi³

¹Institute of Scientific Research, University of La Cuenca del Plata, National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
²River Plate Adventist University, Superior Adventist Institute of Misiones, Misiones, Argentina.
³Interdisciplinary Center of Mathematical and Experimental Psychology Research, National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The early emergence of emotional understanding by means of facial expressions allows the assessment of basic emotions from young ages through pictures or photographs of human faces. This evaluation strategy allows children, with limited language to reveal feelings that neither investigators nor clinicians would be able to obtain verbally. The present work presents a non-verbal activity aimed at testing children’s joy. It is based on a visual analogue scale integrated by seven pictures of infant facial expressions. This scale has the advantage of presenting an animated design, more friendly and appealing than simplified face scales. Its psychometric functioning, revised from different studies, demonstrates that it is a reliable and valid alternative to analyze the experience of joy in small children.

Positive Emotions, Joy, Assessment, Children

Oros, L. & Minzi, M. (2015). A Review Study of Psychometric Functioning of a Picture Scale to Assess Joy in Childhood. Psychology, 6, 223-233. doi: 10.4236/psych.2015.63022.