Universals and cultural differences in the judgments of facial expressions of emotion

We present here new evidence of cross-cultural agreement in the judgement of facial expression. Subjects in 10 cultures performed a more complex judgment task than has been used in previous cross-cultural studies. Instead of limiting the subjects to selecting only one emotion term for each expression, this task allowed them to indicate that multiple emotions were evident and the intensity of each emotion. Agreement was very high across cultures about which emotion was the most intense. The 10 cultures also agreed about the second most intense emotion signaled by an expression and about the relative intensity among expressions of the same emotion. However, cultural differences were found in judgments of the absolute level of emotional intensity.     

Does gaze direction really trigger a reflexive shift of spatial attention?

Previous studies have found that the gaze direction of a centrally presented face facilitates response time (RT) to a lone peripheral target. The widely accepted interpretation of this finding is that gaze direction triggers a cortically mediated reflexive shift of spatial attention. In the present study we tested an alternative explanation, that a target appearing abruptly on its own in the visual field triggers a subcortically mediated reflexive shift of spatial attention, which is modulated by compatibility with gaze direction. Using central gaze cues, we compared RT to a single peripheral onset target with RT to a peripheral onset target accompanied by an equivalent distractor at the mirror opposite location. In both cases the facilitation effect was the same, demonstrating conclusively that the observed orienting is attributable to the reflexive effects of the gaze cue.     

Approach-withdrawal and cerebral asymmetry: emotional expression and brain physiology. I

In this experiment, we combined the measurement of observable facial behavior with simultaneous measures of brain electrical activity to assess patterns of hemispheric activation in different regions during the experience of happiness and disgust. Disgust was found to be associated with right-sided activation in the frontal and anterior temporal regions compared with the happy condition. Happiness was accompanied by left-sided activation in the anterior temporal region compared with disgust. No differences in asymmetry were found between emotions in the central and parietal regions. When data aggregated across positive films were compared to aggregate negative film data, no reliable differences in brain activity were found. These findings illustrate the utility of using facial behavior to verify the presence of emotion, are consistent with the notion of emotion-specific physiological patterning, and underscore the importance of anterior cerebral asymmetries for emotions associated with approach and withdrawal.     

Is the startle reaction an emotion?

In this study, we examined startle reactions in which the subjects did and did not know when a blank pistol would be fired. In addition, we asked subjects to suppress their startle response and to simulate a startle when there was no gunshot. Detailed measurement of facial muscular actions supported most of the findings reported by Landis and Hunt (1939), but our findings suggested that startle be considered a reflex not an emotion. The findings are considered in terms of current disagreements about exactly what constitutes an emotion, including the argument between Zajonc (1980) and Lazarus (1984) about the role of appraisal.     

Modulation of reflexive orienting to gaze direction by facial expressions

Facial expression and gaze perception are thought to share brain mechanisms but behavioural interactions, especially from gaze-cueing paradigms, are inconsistent. We conducted a series of gaze-cueing studies using dynamic facial cues to examine orienting across different emotional expression and task conditions, including face inversion. Across experiments, at a short stimulus–onset asynchrony (SOA) we observed both an expression effect (i.e., faster responses when the face was emotional versus neutral) and a cue validity effect (i.e., faster responses when the target was gazed-at), but no interaction between validity and emotion. Results from face inversion suggest that the emotion effect may have been due to both facial expression and stimulus motion. At longer SOAs, validity and emotion interacted such that cueing by emotional faces, fearful faces in particular, was enhanced relative to neutral faces. These results converge with a growing body of evidence that suggests that gaze and expression are initially processed independently and interact at later stages to direct attentional orienting.     

The Impact of Conflict Issues on Fixed-Pie Perceptions, Problem Solving, and Integrative Outcomes in Negotiation

It is argued that a negotiator's fixed-pie perception, cooperative motivation, problem-solving behavior, and integrative outcomes are influenced by the content of the negotiation—the conflict issue. Negotiation involves conflicting interests, conflicting ideas about intellective problems, or conflicting ideas about evaluative problems. Study 1 showed that individuals in a negotiation about interests have a stronger fixed-pie perception and have a lower cooperative motivation than individuals in an evaluative negotiation, with intellective negotiations taking an intermediate position. Study 2 showed that individuals in a negotiation about interests made more trade-offs and reached higher joint outcomes than individuals in an intellective or evaluative negotiation. Study 3 replicated this finding in a field study. The studies bridge insights from negotiation research and decision-making research and show that the conflict issue has important effects on the negotiation process.     

Coach–Athlete Perceived Congruence Between Actual and Desired Emotions in Karate Competition and Training

Coaches can help athletes regulate emotions but would benefit from tools that help them accurately perceive athletes' emotions. In the present study, we investigated the use of video-recorded performances to compare 3 martial artists' ratings of desired and actual emotions with their coach's ratings. Results show how desired emotions progressively fluctuated throughout competition. Furthermore, desired and actual emotions differed between training and performance contexts. Finally, we report correlations between performance and perceived congruence in desired and actual emotions. Cumulatively, results offer support for the video-assisted recall of emotions as an intervention tool in developing emotion regulation abilities.     

Emotionally meaningful targets enhance orienting triggered by a fearful gazing face

Studies investigating the effect of emotional expression on spatial orienting to a gazed-at location have produced mixed results. The present study investigated the role of affective context in the integration of emotion processing and gaze-triggered orienting. In three experiments, a face gazed non-predictively to the left or right, and then its expression became fearful or happy. Participants identified (Experiments 1 and 2) or detected (Experiment 3) a peripheral target presented 225 or 525 ms after the gaze cue onset. In Experiments 1 and 3 the targets were either threatening (a snarling dog) or non-threatening (a smiling baby); in Experiment 2 the targets were neutral. With emotionally valenced targets, the gaze-cuing effect was larger when the face was fearful compared to happy—but only with the longer cue–target interval. With neutral targets, there was no interaction between gaze and expression. Our results indicate that a meaningful context optimises attentional integration of gaze and expression information.