The automaticity of emotional face-context integration

Abstract

Recent studies have demonstrated that context can dramatically influence the recognition of basic facial expressions, yet the nature of this phenomenon is largely unknown. In the present paper we begin to characterize the underlying process of face-context integration. Specifically, we examine whether it is a relatively controlled or automatic process. In Experiment 1 participants were motivated and instructed to avoid using the context while categorizing contextualized facial expression, or they were led to believe that the context was irrelevant. Nevertheless, they were unable to disregard the context, which exerted a strong effect on their emotion recognition. In Experiment 2, participants categorized contextualized facial expressions while engaged in a concurrent working memory task. Despite the load, the context exerted a strong influence on their recognition of facial expressions. These results suggest that facial expressions and their body contexts are integrated in an unintentional, uncontrollable, and relatively effortless manner.

Figure 1

An example of a prototypical facial expression embedded on a fearful body context. Image from Pictures of Facial Affect, by P. Ekman and W. V. Friesen, 1976, Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. Copyright 1976 by P. Ekman and W. V. Friesen. Reproduced with permission from the Paul Ekman Group.

Figure 2

Examples of the face-context similarity conditions presented in Experiment 1 for the disgust faces. (A) Disgust face in a disgust context (Identity). (B) Disgust face in a fearful context (Low Similarity). (C) Disgust face in a sad context (Medium Similarity). (D) Disgust face in an anger context (High Similarity). Images from Pictures of Facial Affect, by P. Ekman and W. V. Friesen, 1976, Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. Copyright 1976 by P. Ekman and W. V. Friesen. Reproduced with permission from the Paul Ekman Group.

Figure 3

(A) Accuracy (% correct) of recognizing contextualized facial expressions as a function of the experimental condition and context similarity. (B) Categorization of the faces (%) as conveying the context emotion.

Figure 4

Outline of an experimental trial in Experiment 2. Image from Pictures of Facial Affect, by P. Ekman and W. V. Friesen, 1976, Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. Copyright 1976 by P. Ekman and W. V. Friesen. Reproduced with permission from the Paul Ekman Group.

Figure 5

Overall accuracy (% correct) of recognizing contextualized facial expressions as a function of the experimental condition (High Load vs. Low Load) and context similarity.