Mean scores and standard deviations for participant’s answers to each of the three questions according to their experience while watching the film.

<p>Mean scores and standard deviations for participant’s answers to each of the three questions according to their experience while watching the film.</p

Line graph: Development of temperature for each region of interest according to condition.

<p>Line graph: Development of temperature for each region of interest according to condition.</p

The degree of temperature change from one condition to another based on the coding of two independent raters.

<p>The degree of temperature change from one condition to another based on the coding of two independent raters.</p

Representation of the coding performed for each participant according to thematic group.

<p>Representation of the coding performed for each participant according to thematic group.</p

Mean Temperature Values for the Nose and Maxillary Area According to Time.

<p>Mean Temperature Values for the Nose and Maxillary Area According to Time.</p

Means and Standard Deviations of Regions of Interest as a Function of Condition.^*

<p>Means and Standard Deviations of Regions of Interest as a Function of Condition.^{<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0162749#t003fn001" target="_blank">*</a>}</p

Main effect analyses according to condition for each region of interest.^*

<p>Main effect analyses according to condition for each region of interest.^{<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0162749#t002fn001" target="_blank">*</a>}</p

Thermo-grams: Development of temperature throughout each condition (two pictures are provided for baseline, pre-crying and crying).

<p>Thermo-grams: Development of temperature throughout each condition (two pictures are provided for baseline, pre-crying and crying).</p

The Autonomic Signature of Guilt in Children: A Thermal Infrared Imaging Study

<div><p>So far inferences on early moral development and higher order self conscious emotions have mostly been based on behavioral data. Emotions though, as far as arguments support, are multidimensional notions. Not only do they involve behavioral actions upon perception of an event, but they also carry autonomic physiological markers. The current study aimed to examine and characterise physiological signs that underlie self-conscious emotions in early childhood, while grounding them on behavioral analyses. For this purpose, the “mishap paradigm” was used as the most reliable method for evoking feelings of “guilt” in children and autonomic facial temperature variation were detected by functional Infrared Imaging (fIRI). Fifteen children (age: 39–42 months) participated in the study. They were asked to play with a toy, falsely informed that it was the experimenter's “favourite”, while being unaware that it was pre-planned to break. Mishap of the toy during engagement caused sympathetic arousal as shown by peripheral nasal vasoconstriction leading to a marked temperature drop, compared to baseline. Soothing after the mishap phase induced an increase in nose temperature, associated with parasympathetic activity suggesting that the child's distress was neutralized, or even overcompensated. Behavioral analyses reported signs of distress evoked by the paradigm, backing up the thermal observation. The results suggest that the integration of physiological elements should be crucial in research concerning socio-emotional development. fIRI is a non invasive and non contact method providing a powerful tool for inferring early moral emotional signs based on physiological observations of peripheral vasoconstriction, while preserving an ecological and natural context.</p></div

Descriptive statistics for the mean temperature of each condition.

<p>Descriptive statistics for the mean temperature of each condition.</p