Facial expression categorization by chimpanzees using standardized stimuli.

The ability to recognize and accurately interpret facial expressions are critical social cognition skills in primates, yet very few studies have examined how primates discriminate these social signals and which features are the most salient. Four experiments examined chimpanzee facial expression processing using a set of standardized, prototypical stimuli created using the new ChimpFACS coding system. First, chimpanzees were found to accurately discriminate between these expressions using a computerized matching-to-sample task, and recognition was impaired for all but one expression category when they were inverted. Third, a multidimensional scaling analysis examined the perceived dissimilarity among these facial expressions revealing 2 main dimensions, the degree of mouth closure and extent of lip-puckering and retraction. Finally, subjects were asked to match each facial expression category using only individual component features. For each expression category, at least 1 component movement was more salient or representative of that expression than the others. However, these were not necessarily the only movements implicated in subject's overall pattern of errors. Therefore, similar to humans, both configuration and component movements are important during chimpanzee facial expression processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intramuscular electrical stimulation of facial muscles in humans and chimpanzees: Duchenne revisited and extended.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 7(2) of Emotion (see record 2007-06782-006). The address provided for the on-line supplemental materials was incorrect. The correct address at which the supplemental materials can be viewed is the following: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.6.3.367.supp] The pioneering work of Duchenne (1862/1990) was replicated in humans using intramuscular electrical stimulation and extended to another species (Pan troglodytes: chimpanzees) to facilitate comparative facial expression research. Intramuscular electrical stimulation, in contrast to the original surface stimulation, offers the opportunity to activate individual muscles as opposed to groups of muscles. In humans, stimulation resulted in appearance changes in line with Facial Action Coding System (FACS) action units (AUs), and chimpanzee facial musculature displayed functional similarity to human facial musculature. The present results provide objective identification of the muscle substrate of human and chimpanzee facial expressions- data that will be useful in providing a common language to compare the units of human and chimpanzee facial expression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Waller et al. (2006).

Reports an error in "Intramuscular Electrical Stimulation of Facial Muscles in Humans and Chimpanzees: Duchenne Revisited and Extended" by Waller, et al (Emotion, 2006[Aug], Vol 6[3], 367-382). The address provided for the on-line supplemental materials was incorrect. The correct address at which the supplemental materials can be viewed is the following: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.6.3.367.supp (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2006-10747-003.) The pioneering work of Duchenne (1862/1990) was replicated in humans using intramuscular electrical stimulation and extended to another species (Pan troglodytes: chimpanzees) to facilitate comparative facial expression research. Intramuscular electrical stimulation, in contrast to the original surface stimulation, offers the opportunity to activate individual muscles as opposed to groups of muscles. In humans, stimulation resulted in appearance changes in line with Facial Action Coding System (FACS) action units (AUs), and chimpanzee facial musculature displayed functional similarity to human facial musculature. The present results provide objective identification of the muscle substrate of human and chimpanzee facial expressions- data that will be useful in providing a common language to compare the units of human and chimpanzee facial expression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Japanese and American infants' responses to arm restraint.

Five- and 12-mo-old Japanese and American infants participated in a nonpainful arm restraint procedure. Facial responses were scored with an anatomically based coding system (Baby FACS, an adaptation for infants of the Facial Action Coding System [FACS; P. Ekman and W. Friesen, 1978]). Nonfacial body activity (struggling) and negative vocalizations also were scored. Results showed that older infants' latencies to negative response were shorter than those of younger infants, and older infants produced proportionately more negative facial behavior. In addition, 5-mo-old American infants produced criterion negative facial expressions more quickly than 5-mo-old Japanese infants. However, infants of both cultures at both ages eventually produced similar facial configurations and nonfacial behaviors. These findings support the hypothesis that infants' emotional facial expressions are universal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facial expression and the affective component of cynical hostility in male coronary heart disease patients.

This study describes the affective component of hostility as measured by the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale (Ho W. Cook & D. Medley, 1954) by examining the relationship between facial expressions of emotion and Ho scores in 116 male coronary heart disease patients. Patients underwent the videotaped Type A Structured Interview, from which facial expressions were later coded using the Facial Action Coding System. They also completed the Cook-Medley Ho scale. Facial expression of the emotion of contempt was significantly related to Ho scores; anger expression was not. Also, there was a significant interaction between hostility and defensiveness, wherein low-defensive, highly hostile people showed substantially more contempt expression than others. The implications of these findings for the construct validity of Ho and for identifying clinically important subtypes of hostility are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facial reactions to smoking cues relate to ambivalence about smoking.

In this study, the authors used the Facial Action Coding System (FACS; P. Ekman & W. V. Friesen, 1978) to examine the immediate facial responses of abstinent smokers exposed to smoking cues. The aim was to investigate whether facial expressions thought to be linked to ambivalence would relate to more traditional measures of ambivalence about smoking. The authors adapted N. A. Heather's (1998) definition of ambivalence about smoking, which emphasizes difficulty in refraining from smoking despite intentions to do so. Ambivalence expressed during smoking cue exposure was operationalized as the simultaneous occurrence of positive and negative affect-related facial expressions. Thirty-four nicotine-deprived dependent smokers were presented with in vivo smoking cues, and their facial expressions were coded using FACS. Participants also completed self-report measures related to ambivalence about smoking. Smokers who displayed ambivalent facial expressions during smoking cue exposure reported significantly higher scores on measures of smoking ambivalence than did those who did not display ambivalent facial expressions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Linkages between facial expressions of anger and transient myocardial ischemia in men with coronary artery disease.

The authors examined whether facial expressions of emotion would predict changes in heart function. One hundred fifteen male patients with coronary artery disease underwent the Type A Structured Interview, during which time measures of transient myocardial ischemia (wall motion abnormality and left ventricular ejection fraction) were obtained. Facial behavior exhibited during the ischemia measurement period was videotaped and later coded by using the Facial Action Coding System (P. Ekman & W. V. Friesen, 1978). Those participants who exhibited ischemia showed significantly more anger expressions and nonenjoyment smiles than nonischemics. Cook–Medley Hostility scores did not vary with ischemic status. The findings have implications for understanding how anger and hostility differentially influence coronary heart disease risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The prototypical pride expression: Development of a nonverbal behavior coding system.

This research provides a systematic analysis of the nonverbal expression of pride. Study 1 manipulated behavioral movements relevant to pride (e.g., expanded posture and head tilt) to identify the most prototypical pride expression and determine the specific components that are necessary and sufficient for reliable recognition. Studies 2 and 3 tested whether the 2 conceptually and empirically distinct facets of pride ("authentic" and "hubristic"; J. L. Tracy & R. W. Robins, 2007a) are associated with distinct nonverbal expressions. Results showed that neither the prototypical pride expression nor several recognizable variants were differentially associated with either facet, suggesting that for the most part, authentic and hubristic pride share the same signal. Together these studies indicate that pride can be reliably assessed from nonverbal behaviors. In the Appendix, the authors provide guidelines for a pride behavioral coding scheme, akin to the Emotion Facial Action Coding System (EMFACS; P. Ekman & E. Rosenberg, 1997) for assessing "basic" emotions from observable nonverbal behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facial expression in adults with Down's Syndrome.

The facial expressions of adults with Down's syndrome (DS; n?=?15) as they watched happy, sad, and neutral videotapes were compared with those of a healthy age-matched control group (n?=?20). Facial movements were analyzed with the Facial Action Coding System (P. E. Ekman & W. V. Friesen, 1978). While watching happy stimuli, the 10 DS adults who were able to appropriately rate their reactions smiled with a cheek raise as frequently as control adults, suggesting that the expression of positive affect in these individuals is normal. Contrary to predictions, however, the DS group exhibited fewer smiles without cheek raises than did control adults and were more likely not to smile. Neither group showed prototypic sad facial expressions in response to sad stimuli. Independent of emotion, DS participants made more facial movements, including more tongue shows, than did control participants. Differences in facial expression in DS adults may confuse others' interpretations of their emotional responses and may be important for understanding the development of abnormal emotional processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of smoking opportunity on cue-elicited urge: A facial coding analysis.

The authors analyzed smokers' facial expressions using the Facial Action Coding System (P. Ekman & W. V. Friesen. 1978) under varying smoking opportunity conditions. In Experiment 1, smokers first were told that they either could (told-yes) or could not (told-no) smoke during the study. Told-yes smokers reported higher urges than did told-no smokers. Unexpectedly, told-yes smokers became increasingly likely to manifest expressions related to negative affect and less likely to evince expressions related to positive affect, compared with told-no smokers. In Experiment 2, smokers were more likely to show positive affect-related expressions if the delay was 15 s than if it was 60 s. Craving may be related to both a desire to use and an impatient desire to use immediately. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recognition and posing of emotional expressions by abused children and their mothers.

Twenty abused and 20 nonabused pairs of children (3 to 7 years of age) and their mothers participated in a facial expression posing task and a facial expression recognition task. The expressions produced by subjects were judged on emotion content by naive raters and were coded using Friesen and Ekman's (1984) Emotion Facial Action Coding System (EMFACS). Data analysis indicated that abused children and their mothers pose less recognizable expressions than nonabused children and mothers. Although abused children were less accurate than nonabused children in recognizing emotional expressions, there was no difference in recognition accuracy between the two groups of mothers. A significant correlation between mothers' posing scores and children's recognition scores was also obtained. These results suggest that abused children may not observe easily interpreted voluntary displays of emotion by their mothers as often as nonabused children. This may partially explain the difference in recognition (and production) abilities of abused and nonabused children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Violation of expectancy, loss of control, and anger expressions in young infants.

This study examined facial expressions in relation to cognition in infants aged 2–8 months. Eighty infants, divided equally among 4 age groups (2, 4, 6, and 8 months) participated. Forty-eight Ss received an audiovisual stimulus contingent on arm movement, and 32 infants did not control the stimulus. Infant facial expressions during learning and extinction were coded using the Maximally Discriminative Facial Movement Coding System (MAX). Infants in the contingent group expressed greater interest and joy during learning and greater anger during extinction. There was a high concordance between arm pulling and the expression of anger during extinction, indicating that a brief exposure to extinction produces frustration-like changes in emotional responsivity. Individual differences existed in infant responses to frustration during extinction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult judgments and fine-grained analysis of infant facial expressions: Testing the validity of a priori coding formulas.

Three studies tested whether infant facial expressions selected to fit Max formulas (C. E. Izard, 1983) for discrete emotions are recognizable signals of those emotions. Forced-choice emotion judgments (Study 1) and emotion ratings (Study 2) by naive Ss fit Max predictions for slides of infant joy, interest, surprise, and distress, but Max fear, anger, sadness, and disgust expressions in infants were judged as distress or as emotion blends in both studies. Ratings of adult facial expressions (Study 2 only) fit a priori classifications. In Study 3, the facial muscle components of faces shown in Studies 1 and 2 were coded with the Facial Action Coding System (FACS; P. Ekman and W. V. Friesen, 1978) and Baby FACS (H. Oster and D. Rosenstein, in press). Only 3 of 19 Max-specified expressions of discrete negative emotions in infants fit adult prototypes. Results indicate that negative affect expressions are not fully differentiated in infants and that empirical studies of infant facial expressions are needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Components and recognition of facial expression in the communication of emotion by actors.

Addresses the issue of the communication of emotion by actors. In Study 1, the facial behavior of 6 actors portraying emotions as felt or unfelt were analyzed with the Facial Action Coding System. Results indicated that the portrayals of felt emotions were closer to the expression of genuine emotion than the portrayals of unfelt emotions for 3 of the 6 emotions under investigation. Study 2 examined the decoding of actors' portrayals from facial behavior. Decoders were found to be very accurate in recognizing the emotional category but not in judging the encoding condition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of two systems that code infant affective expression.

The Monadic Phases Coding System (MP) and the Maximally Discriminative Facial Movement Coding System (MAX) are both widely used to define and quantify categories of infant affective behavior. To evaluate the validity of extrapolating research findings from one system to another, we used both systems to code videotapes of 12 four-month-old infants engaged in mother–infant interaction. Interobserver agreement was higher with MP; interobserver reliability was equivalent. Point estimates for the percentages of negative and positive, but not interest, expressions were equivalent. MP and MAX generally agreed about the type of expression presented. Intersystem correlations supported the concurrent, but not discriminant, validity of MP and MAX categories. Interest expressions were not orthogonal to negative and positive affect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of a FACS-verified set of basic and self-conscious emotion expressions.

In 2 studies, the authors developed and validated of a new set of standardized emotion expressions, which they referred to as the University of California, Davis, Set of Emotion Expressions (UCDSEE). The precise components of each expression were verified using the Facial Action Coding System (FACS). The UCDSEE is the first FACS-verified set to include the three “self-conscious” emotions known to have recognizable expressions (embarrassment, pride, and shame), as well as the 6 previously established “basic” emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise), all posed by the same 4 expressers (African and White males and females). This new set has numerous potential applications in future research on emotion and related topics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of depression on response to comedy: A dynamic facial coding analysis.

Individuals suffering from depression show diminished facial responses to positive stimuli. Recent cognitive research suggests that depressed individuals may appraise emotional stimuli differently than do nondepressed persons. Prior studies do not indicate whether depressed individuals respond differently when they encounter positive stimuli that are difficult to avoid. The authors investigated dynamic responses of individuals varying in both history of major depressive disorder (MDD) and current depressive symptomatology (N = 116) to robust positive stimuli. The Facial Action Coding System (Ekman & Friesen, 1978) was used to measure affect-related responses to a comedy clip. Participants reporting current depressive symptomatology were more likely to evince affect-related shifts in expression following the clip than were those without current symptomatology. This effect of current symptomatology emerged even when the contrast focused only on individuals with a history of MDD. Specifically, persons with current depressive symptomatology were more likely than those without current symptomatology to control their initial smiles with negative affect-related expressions. These findings suggest that integration of emotion science and social cognition may yield important advances for understanding depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hostility and facial expression in young men and women: Is social regulation more important than negative affect?

Behavioral differences may clarify the link between hostility and health. This study examined facial expression. Seventy-two low- and high-hostile undergraduates underwent the Type A Structured Interview (SI) and a test of social anxiety. Facial behavior was measured with the Facial Action Coding System. Low-hostile participants displayed non-Duchenne smiles more frequently than high-hostile participants during the SI. There were no group differences in the expression of disgust. The results identify differences in the nonverbal behavior of hostile people. Restricted use of non-Duchenne smiles may reflect limited use of appeasement, contributing to uncomfortable interpersonal relations and limited social support. The findings are consistent with a behavioral ecology perspective and suggest that social regulation may be as important as negative affect in determining the consequences of hostility. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are max-specified infant facial expressions during face-to-face interaction consistent with differential emotions theory?

Differential emotions theory (DET) proposes that infant facial expressions of emotions are differentiated. To test this hypothesis, the authors examined infant facial expressions longitudinally at 2, 4, and 6 mo of age during face-to-face play and a "still-face" interaction with their mothers. Infant expressions were coded using the Maximally Discriminative Facial Movement Coding System (Max). Consistent with DET, discrete positive expressions occurred more of the time and were of longer duration than blended expressions of positive affect. Contrary to DET, at no age did the proportions or durations of discrete and blended negative expressions differ, and they showed different patterns of developmental change. One is led to either reject or revise DET or else question the adequacy of the Max system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Varieties of disgust faces and the structure of disgust.

In 3 facial expression identification studies, college students matched a variety of disgust faces to verbally described eliciting situations. The faces depicted specific muscle action movements in accordance with P. Ekman and W. V. Friesen's (1978) Facial Action Coding System. The nose wrinkle is associated with either irritating or offensive smells and, to some extent, bad tastes. Gape and tongue extrusion are associated primarily with what we call core or food-offense disgust and also oral irritation. The broader range of disgust elicitors, including stimuli that remind humans of their animal origins (e.g., body boundary violations, inappropriate sex, poor hygiene, and death), a variety of aversive interpersonal contacts, and certain moral offenses are associated primarily with the raised upper lip. The results support a theory of disgust that posits its origin as a response to bad tastes and maps its evolution onto a moral emotion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)