Abstract
When observing emotional expressions, similar sensorimotor states are activated in the observer, often resulting in physical mimicry. For example, when observing a smile, the zygomaticus muscles associated with smiling are activated in the observer, and when observing a frown, the corrugator brow muscles. We show that the consistency of an individual’s facial emotion, whether they always frown or smile, can be encoded into memory. When the individuals are viewed at a later time expressing no emotion, muscle mimicry of the prior state can be detected, even when the emotion itself is task irrelevant. The results support simulation accounts of memory, where prior embodiments of other’s states during encoding are reactivated when re-encountering a person.
Highlights
As social animals humans must understand the current states of other’s, predict future actions and retrieve from memory information about a person that might facilitate later interactions
Women appear more responsive than men in their physiological reactions to emotional facial expressions (Dimberg and Lundquist 1990)
In the attend to emotion condition, accuracy referred to the percentage of trials correctly identified as containing a happy or angry facial expressions
Summary
As social animals humans must understand the current states of other’s, predict future actions and retrieve from memory information about a person that might facilitate later interactions. According to models, such as that of Wood et al (2016), viewing another person’s smile should activate the face regions within the viewer’s sensorimotor cortices, and might result in facial mimicry in the zygomaticus muscle, with resultant afferent feedback, creating a simulation. The question of whether task relevance would affect the reactivation of facial mimicry was addressed by having half the participants attend to the emotional aspect of the faces they viewed, whilst the other half ignored the emotion and attended to the identity of the faces
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version
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 call