Dynamic Facial Expressions of Emotion Transmit an Evolving Hierarchy of Signals over Time

Abstract

Designed by biological and social evolutionary pressures, facial expressions of emotion comprise specific facial movements to support a near-optimal system of signaling and decoding. Although highly dynamical, little is known about the form and function of facial expression temporal dynamics. Do facial expressions transmit diagnostic signals simultaneously to optimize categorization of the six classic emotions, or sequentially to support a more complex communication system of successive categorizations over time? Our data support the latter. Using a combination of perceptual expectation modeling, information theory, and Bayesian classifiers, we show that dynamic facial expressions of emotion transmit an evolving hierarchy of "biologically basic to socially specific" information over time. Early in the signaling dynamics, facial expressions systematically transmit few, biologically rooted face signals supporting the categorization of fewer elementary categories (e.g., approach/avoidance). Later transmissions comprise more complex signals that support categorization of a larger number of socially specific categories (i.e., the six classic emotions). Here, we show that dynamic facial expressions of emotion provide a sophisticated signaling system, questioning the widely accepted notion that emotion communication is comprised of six basic (i.e., psychologically irreducible) categories, and instead suggesting four.

Development of an auditory emotion recognition function using psychoacoustic parameters based on the International Affective Digitized Sounds

“…This was in alignment with prior studies in which the emotions of anger, fear, and disgust were not readily distinguishable, or in which it was difficult to classify the three emotions through variances in physiological responses (Ekman, Levenson, & Friesen, 1983;Lang, 1994). According to Jack, Garrod, and Schyns (2014), in addition, emotional responses to facial expressions appear to be composed of fewer elementary categories, such as approach and avoidance or happy, sad, fear/surprise, and disgust/ anger. This suggests that some of the basic emotions distinguished by Ekman include more complex emotions, and that it would be difficult to classify these complex emotions.…”

From affective blindsight to emotional consciousness

“…Hence, it is not surprising that affective blindsight was initially tested using facial expressions as stimuli. A common theme of inquiry in face perception literature concerns whether the emotional expression is extracted from an analysis of the whole face configuration or rather from the extraction of individual key features in the face (Jack, Garrod, & Schyns, 2014). This issue is interesting also for affective blindsight, in particular in understanding the minimal visual input sufficient to trigger nonconscious emotion perception.…”

Comparing Social and Intellectual Appeals to Reduce Disgust of Eating Crickets

“…Disgust is a learned emotion, rather than an inherent one, which develops from basic biological responses. 29 As a child develops, they develop disgust attitudes, 30 and food habits 31 similar to their parents which will influence their adult life. This theory explains how insects can be considered disgusting even though an individual may never have tasted an insect.…”