The Good, the Bad and the Ambiguous: On the Failure to Utilize Diagnostic Information in Isolated Extreme Facial Expressions

Background: The distinction between positive and negative facial expressions is assumed to be clear and robust. Nevertheless, recent research with intense real-life faces has shown that viewers are often unable to reliably differentiate the valence of such expressions without the use of body context. Interestingly, a Facial Action Coding System (FACS) analysis revealed that the intense positive and intense negative faces are not physically identical. For example, mouth opening was more common among winners than losers.

Aim: We examined whether presenting an explicit diagnostic cue would increase the ability of viewers to differentiate winners from losers.

Method: We supplied two groups of participants with valid or invalid information about objective facial activity and valence. One group of participants was presented with images of facial expressions only, while the other group was presented with images of facial expressions with bodies.

Results: In the face-only condition, participants failed to differentiate between positive and negative expressions. The ratings remained virtually identical irrespective of the information supplied. Yet, in the face+body condition, participants successfully differentiated between the positive and negative images.

Discussion and Conclusion: While rating the valance of extreme facial expressions, viewers are immune to objectively useful facial information. We propose that this immunity results from stereotypical (but erroneous) inner representations of extreme positive and negative expression. These results suggest a surprising dissociation between the information present in isolated facial expressions and the information used by perceivers – and most importantly, they highlight the critical role of body context in the perception of facial expressions.