The Devil is in the Details — the Meanings of Faces and How They Influence the Meanings of Facial Expressions

Abstract

Facial expressions have a primary role in signaling emotional states. As such they are an important source of information in social interactions and have been the focus of a large body of research in psychology and allied disciplines. This research has been drawn upon extensively in the creation of avatars and computer controlled agents in order to facilitate human-machine interactions. A great deal of effort has gone into attempting to translate the temporal and pattern features of human emotional expressions into a credible computer generated display. However, what has been ignored in this process is the fact that faces and facial movements provide other information in addition to the apparent emotional state of the individual. Specifically, facial expressions also signal behavioral intentions such as intentions to approach or to avoid as well as personality characteristics of the person such as dominance and affiliativeness. For example, anger signals dominance and an intention to approach, whereas fear signals submissiveness and an intention to withdraw. In this sense facial expressions not only provide information on what emotion a person is feeling, but also tell us about who a person is and what to expect from them behaviorally. It is also important to note that a great deal of socially relevant information is transmitted via other cues directly linked to the face, in particular by physiognomy and gaze direction. Because these cues serve as the immediate context for facial expressions they can plausibly affect the interpretation we give to the facial movement. Stereotypic beliefs elicited by facial appearance, such as beliefs that men are more likely to show anger and women more likely to smile, also can impact our interpretation of expressions. It is our view that gaze, physiognomy and emotion expressions use a shared signal system in which some signals are functionally equivalent whereas others serve to reinforce each other. This means that certain combinations of expressive, gaze and physiognomic cues present a coherent message and reinforce each other, whereas others may conflict or contradict each other. Put another way, the face on which emotional expressions appear is not an empty canvas, rather, as