Abstract
The decoding of social signals from nonverbal cues plays a vital role in the social interactions of socially gregarious animals such as humans. Because nonverbal emotional signals from the face and body are normally seen together, it is important to investigate the mechanism underlying the integration of emotional signals from these two sources. We conducted a study in which the time course of the integration of facial and bodily expressions was examined via analysis of event-related potentials (ERPs) while the focus of attention was manipulated. Distinctive integrating features were found during multiple stages of processing. In the first stage, threatening information from the body was extracted automatically and rapidly, as evidenced by enhanced P1 amplitudes when the subjects viewed compound face-body images with fearful bodies compared with happy bodies. In the second stage, incongruency between emotional information from the face and the body was detected and captured by N2. Incongruent compound images elicited larger N2s than did congruent compound images. The focus of attention modulated the third stage of integration. When the subjects' attention was focused on the face, images with congruent emotional signals elicited larger P3s than did images with incongruent signals, suggesting more sustained attention and elaboration of congruent emotional information extracted from the face and body. On the other hand, when the subjects' attention was focused on the body, images with fearful bodies elicited larger P3s than did images with happy bodies, indicating more sustained attention and elaboration of threatening information from the body during evaluative processes.
Highlights
As a highly social species, it is of great significance for humans to comprehend and interpret others’ emotions, intentions, and actions
Part 1 of the study demonstrated the time course of integrating emotional signals from the face and body when participants were instructed explicitly to focus on the face
The results showed that the threatening information conveyed by the body could be extracted rapidly in the early coarse processing stage, as evidenced by enhanced P1 amplitudes when participants viewed compound images with fearful bodies compared with those elicited by images with happy bodies
Summary
As a highly social species, it is of great significance for humans to comprehend and interpret others’ emotions, intentions, and actions. Nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions, bodily posture and gesticulation, and vocal prosody constitute a rich source of social signals. An event-related potential (ERP) study found that, like facial expressions, threatening emotional information from bodily expressions can be extracted rapidly. This rapid detection was evidenced by shortened P1 peak latencies when participants viewed fearful whole body actions relative to latencies observed when they viewed neutral actions [3]. Imaging studies have shown that emotional body postures can be perceived implicitly in the absence of the visual cortex (e.g., [5]), indicating that both cortical and subcortical pathways are involved in the processing of emotional bodies, similar to the situation with the processing of emotional faces [6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
