Different faces in the crowd: A happiness superiority effect for schematic faces in heterogeneous backgrounds.

Craig, Belinda M.; Becker, Stefanie I.; Lipp, Ottmar V.

doi:10.1037/a0036043

Cited by 54 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…The spatiotemporal pattern of ERP difference activations suggests preferential processing for happy relative to angry faces in all significant clusters. This result concurs with the so-called happy face advantage, meaning that happy or smiling faces are typically recognized more quickly and more accurately as well as detected faster (under certain conditions) than any other facial expression (e.g., Craig, Becker, & Lipp, 2014;Kirita & Endo, 1995). The observed happy face advantage also converges with an enhanced EPN previously shown for happy versus angry faces (Schacht & Sommer, 2009), or pleasant versus unpleasant affective scenes (e.g., ; but see Calvo & Beltr an, 2013).…”

Section: Influence Of Emotional Expressionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Identity and expression processing during classical conditioning with faces

et al. 2018

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In classical conditioning, conditioned responses (CRs) to aversively paired (CS+) relative to unpaired (CS-) face images are often interpreted in terms of the specific individual displayed in the CS + face image having adopted an aversive emotional connotation. This interpretation requires conditioning to rely on an association between CS + face identity and the occurrence of the aversive event (UCS). Here, we tested this requirement assuming that if an association between CS + face identity and UCS occurrence is established, CRs to originally conditioned face images should transfer to novel images of same-identity faces. Forty-eight participants underwent MultiCS conditioning with eight neutral faces as CSs and electric shock as UCS. Central, peripheral, evaluative, and behavioral CRs signaled successful emotional learning (as reported in Pastor et al., 2015). Behavioral and EEG responses of consecutive passive viewing showed enhanced reactions to novel angry and happy expressions of previously shocked CS + versus nonshocked CS- identities, indicating successful CR transfer within the dimension of face identity. Investigating the nature of CR transfer, EEG revealed an interaction of identity and expression information during face processing that followed emotional congruency (i.e., stronger reactions to congruent angry CS + and happy CS- vs. incongruent angry CS- and happy CS + compounds). While correlates of transfer appeared in late and midlatency time intervals, the congruency interaction became significant within the first 100 ms of face processing. Our results suggest conditioning to rely on an association of UCS occurrence with CS + identity and point to fast dynamic interrelations between identity and expression processing.

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Section: Influence Of Emotional Expressionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Identity and expression processing during classical conditioning with faces

et al. 2018

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“…We also noted that many of the original reports used faces in rigid rectangular arrays, allowing for the possibility that the surrounds were needed to aid segmentation in that special case. Craig, Becker, and Lipp (2014) performed a conjunction search investigation, comparing schematic happy and angry faces as targets among a common mixture of intermediate faces. Their distractors were either sad faces, with the happy face down-turned eyebrows and the angry face down-turned mouth, or ''scheming'' faces, with the angry face up-turned eyebrows and the happy-face up-turned mouth.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The face-in-the-crowd effect: Threat detection versus iso-feature suppression and collinear facilitation

Kennett

Wallis

2019

Journal of Vision

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Are people biologically prepared for the rapid detection of threat posed by an angry facial expression, even when it is conveyed in the form of a schematic line drawing? Based on visual search times, the current literature would suggest that the answer is yes. But are there lowlevel explanations for this effect? Here, we present visual search results for schematic faces using current best practice, based on a concentric search array and set size manipulation. Using this approach, we replicate the classic search advantage for angry over happy faces. However, we also report a comparable effect when abstract plus-and square-shaped stimuli-derived from the angry and happy schematic faces respectively-are used within the same paradigm. We then go on to demonstrate that, while reduced, the effect remains after removal of the circular surround, bringing us closer to the source of the effect. We explore the possibility that the source of this search asymmetry could be the iso-feature suppression and collinear facilitation model proposed in Li's (1999a, 1999b, and 2002) bottom-up model of saliency. Simulations with this model using the abstract stimuli align with the corresponding behavioral results (i.e., the plus shape was found to be more salient than the square). Given the deliberate similarities between these abstract shapes and the respective face stimuli, we propose that the underlying cause for the asymmetries typically found using schematic faces, may be more related to early visual processing of line orientation than threat detection.

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“…Although research findings suggest that emotionally negative faces such as angry faces draw more attention (e.g., Frischen et al, 2008 ; Huang et al, 2011 ), recent evidence suggests that positive emotion faces such as happy faces may be detected more readily than angry faces ( Becker et al, 2011 ; Craig et al, 2014 ). Taken further, the functional-evolutionary perspective suggests that it may be more adaptive to be sensitive to angry men than angry women because angry men possess greater physical threat because of their bigger stature compared to women ( Lassek and Gaulin, 2009 ).…”

Section: A Functional-evolutionary Perspective On Emotional Facesmentioning

confidence: 94%

The adaptive value associated with expressing and perceiving angry-male and happy-female faces

Tay

2015

Front. Psychol.

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Facial expressions are valuable for conveying and understanding the inner thoughts and feelings of the expressor. However, the adaptive value associated with a specific expression on a male face is different from a female face. The present review uses a functional-evolutionary analysis to elucidate the evolutionary advantage in the expression and perception of angry-male and happy-female faces over angry-female and happy-male faces. For the expressors, it is more advantageous for men to show angry facial expression as it signals dominance, averts aggression and deters mate poaching; it is more advantageous for women to display happy facial expression as it signals their willingness for childcare, tending and befriending. For the perceivers, those sensitive to angry men avoid being physically harmed while those sensitive to happy women gain social support. Extant evidence suggests that facial structure and cognitive mechanisms evolved to express and perceive angry-male and happy-female faces more efficiently compared to angry-female and happy-male faces.

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Different faces in the crowd: A happiness superiority effect for schematic faces in heterogeneous backgrounds.

Cited by 54 publications

References 29 publications

Identity and expression processing during classical conditioning with faces

Identity and expression processing during classical conditioning with faces

The face-in-the-crowd effect: Threat detection versus iso-feature suppression and collinear facilitation

The adaptive value associated with expressing and perceiving angry-male and happy-female faces

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