Publications

Abstract:

A basic premise of classic emotion theories is that distinct emotional experiences yield distinct emotional vocalizations—each informative of its situational context. Furthermore, it is commonly assumed that emotional vocalizations become more distinct and diagnostic as their intensity increases. Critically, these theoretical assumptions largely rely on research utilizing posed vocal reactions of actors, which may be overly simplified and stereotypical. While recent work suggests that intense, real-life vocalizations may be nondiagnostic, the exact way in which increasing degrees of situational intensity affect the perceived valence of real-life versus posed expressions remains unknown. Here we compared real-life and posed vocalizations to winning increasing amounts of money in the lottery. Results show that while posed vocalizations are perceived as positive for both low- and high-sum wins, real-life vocalizations are perceived as positive only for low-sum wins, but as negative for high-sum wins. These findings demonstrate the potential gaps between real-life and posed expressions and highlight the role of situational intensity in driving perceptual ambiguity for real-life emotional expressions.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000931

Abstract:

Accurate perception of emotional expressions plays a critical role in empathic accuracy, but are emotional expressions truly informative for affect? Classic theories of emotion assert a direct, causal link between the emotional experience and its consequent manifestation in the face and voice. Such theories predict that distinct emotional experiences would yield distinct emotional expressions, each diagnostic for the valence of its occurring situation. However, although the hallmark of emotional expressions is their spontaneous expressive nature, the prevalent approach in contemporary studies of emotional expressions relies on posed or simulated expressions of actors. In this chapter, we discuss recent evidence from studies that pursued more ecological and naturalistic stimuli in emotion perception research. A special emphasis is placed on intense emotional expressions, in which empathic accuracy may be most critical. Converging recent evidence casts doubt on the diagnostic nature of emotional expressions and highlights the role of contextual information in the perception of emotion. Finally, the methodological and theoretical implications to the fields of both emotion perception and empathic accuracy are discussed.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51890-5_9

Abstract:

Emotion recognition deficits in Huntington's disease (HD) are well-established. However, most previous studies have measured emotion recognition using stereotypical and intense facial expressions, which are easily recognized and artificial in their appearance. By contrast, everyday expressions are often more challenging to recognize, as they are subtle and non-stereotypical. Therefore, previous studies may have inflated the performance of HD patients and it is difficult to generalize their results to facial expressions encountered in everyday social interactions. In the present study, we tested 21 symptomatic HD patients and 28 healthy controls with a traditional facial expression set, as well as a novel stimulus set which exhibits subtle and non-stereotypical facial expressions. While HD patients demonstrated poor emotion recognition in both sets, when tested with the novel, ecologically looking facial expressions, patients' performance declined to chance level. Intriguingly, patients' emotion recognition deficit was predicted only by the severity of their motor symptoms, not by their cognitive status. This suggests a possible mechanism for emotion recognition impairments in HD, in line with embodiment theories. From this point of view, poor motor control may affect patients' ability to subtly produce and simulate a perceived facial expression, which in turn may contribute to their impaired recognition.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2020.01.019

Abstract:

A basic premise of emotion theories is that experienced feelings (whether specific emotions or broad valence) are expressed via vocalizations in a veridical and clear manner. By contrast, functional–contextual frameworks, rooted in animal communication research, view vocalizations as contextually flexible tools for social influence, not as expressions of emotion. Testing these theories has proved difficult because past research relied heavily on posed sounds which may lack ecological validity. Here, we test these theories by examining the perception of human affective vocalizations evoked during highly intense, real-life emotional situations. In Experiment 1a, we show that highly intense vocalizations of opposite valence (e.g., joyous reunions, fearful encounters) are perceptually confusable and their ambiguity increases with higher intensity. In Experiment 1b, we use authentic lottery winning reactions and show that increased hedonic intensity leads to lower, not higher valence. In Experiment 2, we demonstrate that visual context operates as a powerful mechanism for disambiguating real-life vocalizations, shifting perceived valence categorically. These results suggest affective vocalizations may be inherently ambiguous, demonstrate the role of intensity in driving affective ambiguity, and suggest a critical role for context in vocalization perception. Together, these findings challenge both basic emotion and dimensional theories of emotion expression and are better in line with a functional–contextual account which is externalist and by definition, context dependent.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000535