Spontaneous expressive control in blind and sighted children.

The effect of blindness on the spontaneous expressive control of negative emotion was examined in a study comparing 12 congenitally blind children with 12 sighted children who were matched by age, sex, and school. Blind children engaged in as much positive facial display as sighted children when receiving a disappointing prize, although they were less likely to refer spontaneously to their expressive control in explaining whether the examiner knew of their disappointment. Blind children were more likely to engage in neutral remarks when receiving the disappointing prize, and older blind children referred to verbal control of emotion communication. The data suggest that blindness does not preclude the spontaneous expressive control of negative emotion.