Abstract
We employed a novel cuing paradigm to assess whether dynamically versus statically presented facial expressions differentially engaged predictive visual mechanisms. Participants were presented with a cueing stimulus that was either the static depiction of a low intensity expressed emotion; or a dynamic sequence evolving from a neutral expression to the low intensity expressed emotion. Following this cue and a backwards mask, participants were presented with a probe face that displayed either the same emotion (congruent) or a different emotion (incongruent) with respect to that displayed by the cue although expressed at a high intensity. The probe face had either the same or different identity from the cued face. The participants' task was to indicate whether or not the probe face showed the same emotion as the cue. Dynamic cues and same identity cues both led to a greater tendency towards congruent responding, although these factors did not interact. Facial motion also led to faster responding when the probe face was emotionally congruent to the cue. We interpret these results as indicating that dynamic facial displays preferentially invoke predictive visual mechanisms, and suggest that motoric simulation may provide an important basis for the generation of predictions in the visual system.
Highlights
The ability to make rapid judgements about the emotional states of conspecifics from their facial displays is a fundamental component of the human neurocognitive system [1]
The historic reliance on non-moving stimuli is counterintuitive as real-life facial expressions are dynamic, and correspondingly dynamic stimulus materials should promote ecological validity
Facial expressions of affect are often explicitly characterised in terms of dynamic actions (e.g., [6]), and the predominant neurocognitive models of face processing [7] emphasise separable processing mechanisms for dynamic aspects of faces
Summary
The ability to make rapid judgements about the emotional states of conspecifics from their facial displays is a fundamental component of the human neurocognitive system [1]. The historic reliance on non-moving stimuli is counterintuitive as real-life facial expressions are dynamic, and correspondingly dynamic stimulus materials should promote ecological validity. Facial expressions of affect are often explicitly characterised in terms of dynamic actions (e.g., [6]), and the predominant neurocognitive models of face processing [7] emphasise separable processing mechanisms for dynamic aspects of faces. That the preponderance of studies conducted in the area has used static pictures of facial affect may, in part, reflect difficulties in achieving adequately controlled stimuli. It reflects historical limitations in terms of stimulus delivery systems (which recent work suggests may be surmountable [8])
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