Is emotion perception altered by gaze direction, gender appearance, and gender identity of the perceived face?

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine how gaze and emotion processing may change due to differences in gender appearance and gender identity of the perceived face. We manipulated gender appearance (male or female), gender identity (cisgender or transgender), gaze direction (direct or averted), and expressed emotions (anger, fear, or neutral) of face models in an emotion rating task. We replicate several previous findings, including a direct gaze advantage, an emotion effect, and an interaction between gaze direction and expressed emotion. In line with previous findings on the influence of facial morphology for face processing, we found that male faces were more quickly and intensely perceived for displays of anger, while female faces were more quickly and intensely perceived for displays of fear. Of key interest, gender identity influenced face perception for different emotion expressions and gaze directions for ratings and reaction times in a variety of ways. For example, transgender male faces were seen as angrier and less fearful than cisgender male faces, while the opposite effect occurred for female faces. These results suggest that face perception is systematically shaped by morphological differences as well as more abstract social constructs related to gender identity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).