Approach–avoidance of facial affect is moderated by the presence of an observer-irrelevant trigger

Abstract

This study examined whether approach–avoidance related behaviour elicited by facial affect is moderated by the presence of an observer-irrelevant trigger that may influence the observer’s attributions of the actor’s emotion. Participants were shown happy, disgusted, and neutral facial expressions. Half of these were presented with a plausible trigger of the expression (a drink). Approach–avoidance related behaviour was indexed explicitly through a questionnaire (measuring intentions) and implicitly through a manikin version of the affective Simon task (measuring automatic behavioural tendencies). In the absence of an observer-irrelevant trigger, participants expressed the intention to avoid disgusted and approach happy facial expressions. Participants also showed a stronger approach tendency towards happy than towards disgusted facial expressions. The presence of the observer-irrelevant trigger had a moderating effect, decreasing the intention to approach happy and to avoid disgusted expressions. The trigger had no moderating effect on the approach–avoidance tendencies. Thus the influence of an observer-irrelevant trigger appears to reflect more of a controlled than automatic process.

Interpersonal responses to facial expressions of disgust, anger, and happiness in individuals with varying levels of social anxiety

“…Nonetheless, when participants were explicitly asked whether they would approach or avoid targets displaying specific expressions, they indicated that they would avoid targets expressing disgust. This explicit response was also found in the other study [ 13 ], though only when participants were left uncertain about why the emotion was expressed by the target. When the disgust expressions were visually accompanied by a drink as the potential source of the target’s expressed emotion, disgust invited approach.…”

“…Further, we examined responses not only in terms of communion and agency but also in terms of (explicit) approach-avoidance. This was similar to past approach-avoidance studies [ 2 , 13 , 29 , 30 ] and allowed us to explore the link between the approach-avoidance model and the interpersonal circumplex model. Furthermore, we examined how responses varied as a function of trait social anxiety.…”

“…As suggested in the Introduction, while the shared component of condemnation as signalled by both anger and disgust may invite similar interpersonal responses to both emotion expressions, due to the more general character of the condemnation conveyed by expressions of disgust [ 6 , 10 ], the responses invited by these expressions might be more pronounced than those invited by expressions of anger. Additionally, it has been argued that disgust is more likely to invite avoidance when participants think they are the source of the expression [ 13 ]. This may have been relevant in the present study as participants were specifically instructed to indicate how they would respond someone with a disgusted (or other) facial expression during an interaction with that person.…”

“…Studies in unselected participants have examined responses to different expressions of emotion either along the dimension of approach-avoidance [ 2 , 13 ] or along the two dimensions of communion and agency [ 1 , 17 ]. Responses of socially anxious individuals have only been studied in terms of approach-avoidance [ 29 , 30 ], and studies to date did not include disgust expressions, which might be particularly salient for socially anxious individuals who are typically high on fear of negative evaluation.…”

Dynamic emotional expressions do not modulate responses to gestures

“…Emotional expressions are a particularly salient form of social stimuli ( Vuilleumier & Schwartz, 2001 ) which are processed rapidly and without conscious awareness ( Batty & Taylor, 2003 ; Smith, 2012 ) and have been shown to interfere with non-imitative motor responses ( Renard, de Jong, & Pijnenborg, 2017 ; Seidel, Habel, Kirschner, Gur, & Derntl, 2010 ). Emotional expressions are closely linked to the phenomena of facial mimicry discussed above, with considerable evidence that participants will automatically imitate the emotional expressions of others ( Dimberg, Thunberg, & Elmehed, 2000 ; Hess & Fischer, 2014 ).…”