Sex, personality, and physiological variables in the communication of affect via facial expression.

Abstract

Senders viewed 25 emotionally loaded color slides. Their facial expressions were observed via a hidden television camera by observers who made judgments about the nature of each slide and the sender's reaction to it. A total of 64 undergraduates were arranged in eight pairings each of females sending to male observers, females sending to females, males sending to males, and males sending to females. Statistically significant communication was demonstrated, with females being more accurate senders than males. More accurate senders tended to show a smaller skin conductance and heart rale response to the slides and a more personal verbal report of their emotional reaction to the slides. Several personality measures were related to communication accuracy and physiological responding. The role of nonverbal behavior in the process of communication has been the subject of much recent study in both animals and humans. An important beginning has been made toward analyzing the specific facial, postural, and gestural cues that inform others about the affective state of an individual (e.g., Ekman, 1972; Izard, 1971). Other experiments have been directed to the study of differences in the ability to send and receive accurate nonverbal messages and the implications of such ability in one's social and emotional life.3 Miller and his colleagues have developed a paradigm for studying individual differences in the nonverbal sending and receiving ability of rhesus monkeys (Miller, 1967; Miller, Caul, & Mirsky, 1967). This paradigm has been adapted to the study of humans by Gubar (1966) and Lanzetta and Kleck