Six facial prosodic expressions caregivers similarly display to infants and dogs

Parents tend to use a specific communication style, including specific facial expressions, when speaking to their preverbal infants which has important implications for children’s healthy development. In the present study, we investigated these facial prosodic features of caregivers with a novel method that compares infant-, dog- and adult-directed communication. We identified three novel facial displays in addition to the already described three facial expressions (i.e. the ‘prosodic faces’) that mothers and fathers are typically displaying when interacting with their 1–18 month-old infants and family dogs, but not when interacting with another adult. The so-called Special Happy expression proved to be the most frequent face type during infant- and dog-directed communication which always includes a Duchenne marker to convey an honest and intense happy emotion of the speaker. These results suggest that the ‘prosodic faces’ play an important role in both adult-infant and human–dog interactions and fulfil specific functions: to call and maintain the partner’s attention, to foster emotionally positive interactions, and to strengthen social bonds. Our study highlights the relevance of future comparative studies on facial prosody and its potential contribution to healthy emotional and cognitive development of infants.