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. * Internalizer versus externalizer, * p < .10. ** p < .05. *** p < .01.

The communication of affect through spontaneous facial expressions was studied with 10 pairs of female undergraduates and 9 pairs of males. "Sender" subjects watched 25 slides designed to elicit affect while "observers" watched the sender's face over television and made judgments about the nature and intensity of the affect. Skin conductance and heart rate were recorded from both sender and observer. Results revealed significant communication of affect, particularly among the female pairs. Relationships between the communication process, personality measures, and physiological responding were explored, and a negative relationship was found between the sender's skin conductance responding and communication accuracy.

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