ABSTRACT
The experiential states through which infants 3 to 4 months old go in such a task-oriented situation was described by Meili as the building up of tension in the phase where infants try to assimilate the percept, ended by a solution and the reduction of tension when infants finally succeed. Students of achievement motivation consider the kind of mastery-oriented behavior in infants described earlier as a precursor system of the achievement motivation system of the older preschool child. In these studies, older children, the 4.5- to 6.5-year-olds, already demonstrated signs of controlled expression, even of positive emotions in cases where children won the competition. The social asymmetric relation between the adult experimenter and the child in this situation may have motivated the child to dampen the triumph. When the task is demanding and attracting the child's attention, the smile might very well be a valid indicator of the child's emotional reaction, joy, contentment, or pride.
