The effect of left and right poses on the expression of facial emotion

Nicholls, Michael E. R.; Wolfgang, Bradley J.; Clode, Danielle; Lindell, Annukka K.

doi:10.1016/s0028-3932(02)00024-6

Cited by 66 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Therefore, the strong effect of valence appears to be related to the new technique used in this study. Composite photographs used in earlier studies are less naturalistic (Stringer & May 1981;Nicholls et al 2002) than the images used in this study and may therefore obscure any valence effect. Why such a strong asymmetry in subjective ratings should arise in the absence of a strong effect of valence on movement asymmetries is hard to determine.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Detecting hemifacial asymmetries in emotional expression with three–dimensional computerized image analysis

Nicholls

Ellis

Clement

et al. 2004

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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Emotions are expressed more clearly on the left side of the face than the right: an asymmetry that probably stems from right hemisphere dominance for emotional expression (right hemisphere model). More controversially, it has been suggested that the left hemiface bias is stronger for negative emotions and weaker or reversed for positive emotions (valence model). We examined the veracity of the right hemisphere and valence models by measuring asymmetries in: (i) movement of the face; and (ii) observer's rating of emotionality. The study uses a precise three-dimensional (3D) imaging technique to measure facial movement and to provide images that simultaneously capture the left or right hemifaces. Models (n = 16) with happy, sad and neutral expressions were digitally captured and manipulated. Comparison of the neutral and happy or sad images revealed greater movement of the left hemiface, regardless of the valence of the emotion, supporting the right hemisphere model. There was a trend, however, for left-sided movement to be more pronounced for negative than positive emotions. Participants (n = 357) reported that portraits rotated so that the left hemiface was featured, were more expressive of negative emotions whereas right hemiface portraits were more expressive for positive emotions, supporting the valence model. The effect of valence was moderated when the images were mirror-reversed. The data demonstrate that relatively small rotations of the head have a dramatic effect on the expression of positive and negative emotions. The fact that the effect of valence was not captured by the movement analysis demonstrates that subtle movements can have a strong effect on the expression of emotion.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Detecting hemifacial asymmetries in emotional expression with three–dimensional computerized image analysis

Nicholls

Ellis

Clement

et al. 2004

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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“…An interesting speculation relates to previous results on the laterality of emotional expressiveness. One explanation could be that the actor's left is more emotionally expressive (Nicholls et al 2002) and hence more affected by transitory aspects of the situation. As such, the right side may be a more temporally stable signal of trait, as opposed to state, information.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Note that here and throughout, we will use "left" and "right" to refer to the perspective of the stimulus faces, ie the left and right of the actor, not the viewer. It is generally accepted that the left side of the face is more emotionally expressive, even when controlling for side of presentation by utilising mirror-reversed faces (Nicholls et al 2002). In turn, this can lead to perceptions of a more scientific and less emotional person when more of the right side of the face is visible (Lindell and Savill 2010;ten Cate 2002).…”

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confidence: 99%

Different Signals of Personality and Health from the Two Sides of the Face

Kramer

Ward

2011

Perception

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Abstract. Previous studies demonstrate that people with different personality traits have different looking faces. We investigated whether personality and health information are differently signalled by the two hemifaces. Using composite images created from women with high and low scores on health and personality dimensions, we investigated discrimination accuracy with original and mirrored hemifaces. By comparing discrimination accuracy for particular types of hemiface, we address issues regarding both the location of information signals and how these signals are conveyed. From the hemiface stimuli, participants could accurately identify three of the Big Five traits, along with health. We found differences in which hemiface could be more accurately identified, depending on the expressed trait. Emotional stability and health were more accurately discriminated from the right hemiface, while extraversion showed higher accuracy from the left hemiface. We found evidence for differences between hemifaces related to both directional asymmetries and to other information content. Finally, our results also address ongoing debate about which side of the face is more attractive, as we found attractiveness differences between hemifaces depended upon the personality trait most clearly expressed.

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“…Individuals posing with a leftward posing bias are judged as more emotional than those posing with a rightward posing bias (Dunstan & Lindell, 2012;Nicholls, Wolfgang, Clode, & Lindell, 2002). Further, portraits of scientists that displayed more of the right cheek were perceived as more scientific (ten Cate, 2002), and participants were more likely to rate individuals posing with a leftward posing bias as English students, and individuals posing with a rightward bias as Chemistry students (Lindell & Savill, 2010).…”

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confidence: 94%

“…The present study seeks to investigate how previously identified perceived differences in emotionality based on pose direction (Dunstan & Lindell, 2012;Lindell & Savill, 2010;Nicholls, Wolfgang, et al, 2002;ten Cate, 2002) affect ratings of perceived political orientation. We sought to explore this by presenting images of leftward and rightward posing individuals and asking participants to rate the perceived political orientation of that individual.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%