Not all is noticed: Kinematic cues of emotion-specific gait

Abstract

Perceiving emotions from gait can serve numerous socio-environmental functions (e.g. perceiving threat, sexual courting behaviours). Participant perceivers were asked to report their strategies for identifying happiness, sadness, anger and fear in point-light walkers. Perceivers claimed they identified happiness by a bouncing gait with increased arm movement, sadness by a slow slouching gait, anger by a fast stomping gait and fear by both fast and slow gaits. The emotion-specific point-light walker stimuli were kinematically analysed to verify the presence of the gait cues perceivers reported using to identify each emotion. Happy and angry walkers both displayed long strides with increased arm movement though angry strides had a faster cadence. Fearful walkers walked with fast short strides reminiscent of a scurrying gait. Sad walkers walked with slow short strides consequently creating the slowest walking pace. However, fearful and sad walkers showed less arm movement in their gait in different ways. Sad walkers moved their entire arms whilst fearful walkers primarily moved their lower arms throughout their gait.

Keywords: Emotion; Kinematic analysis; Psychophysics; Visual perception; Walking gait.