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. 2016 May 31:7:810.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00810. eCollection 2016.

Effect of Affective Personality Information on Face Processing: Evidence from ERPs

Qiu L Luo  1 , Han L Wang  1 , Milena Dzhelyova  2 , Ping Huang  1 , Lei Mo  1
Affiliations

Effect of Affective Personality Information on Face Processing: Evidence from ERPs

Qiu L Luo et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

This study explored the extent to which there are the neural correlates of the affective personality influence on face processing using event-related potentials (ERPs). In the learning phase, participants viewed a target individual's face (expression neutral or faint smile) paired with either negative, neutral or positive sentences describing previous typical behavior of the target. In the following EEG testing phase, participants completed gender judgments of the learned faces. Statistical analyses were conducted on measures of neural activity during the gender judgment task. Repeated measures ANOVA of ERP data showed that faces described as having a negative personality elicited larger N170 than did those with a neutral or positive description. The early posterior negativity (EPN) showed the same result pattern, with larger amplitudes for faces paired with negative personality than for others. The size of the late positive potential was larger for faces paired with positive personality than for those with neutral and negative personality. The current study indicates that affective personality information is associated with an automatic, top-down modulation on face processing.

Keywords: ERPs; face processing; person perception; personality.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Examples of experiment stimuli.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Sequence of events in the gender judgment task.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Grand Averages at posterior sites for faces of varying personalities. Pos, positive personality; Neu, neutral personality; Neg, negative personality.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Grand averages at parietal sites for faces of varying personalities.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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