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Facial expression arousal level modulates facial mimicry.

Tomomi Fujimura¹, Wataru Sato, Naoto Suzuki

¹Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Ichiban-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8472, Japan. fujimura@brain.riken.jp

International Journal of Psychophysiology : Official Journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology

|March 9, 2010

Summary

Facial mimicry is influenced by emotion arousal. High-arousal pleasant expressions elicit stronger facial muscle responses compared to low-arousal ones, suggesting arousal enhances mimicry for positive emotions.

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Area of Science:

Psychology
Neuroscience
Social Psychology

Background:

Facial mimicry, the automatic imitation of others' facial expressions, is a fundamental aspect of social interaction.
The influence of emotional arousal and presentation modality on the intensity of facial mimicry remains an area of active research.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how the arousal level of facial expressions (high vs. low) and their mode of presentation (static vs. dynamic) affect facial mimicry.
To determine if these factors differentially impact mimicry for pleasant and unpleasant emotions.

Main Methods:

Participants viewed high- and low-arousal pleasant and unpleasant facial expressions presented statically and dynamically.
Facial electromyography (EMG) was used to record activity in the zygomatic major and corrugator supercilii muscles.

Main Results:

Higher zygomatic major muscle activity, associated with smiling, was observed for high-arousal pleasant expressions compared to low-arousal ones.
Corrugator supercilii muscle activity, associated with frowning, showed no significant difference between high- and low-arousal unpleasant expressions, regardless of presentation mode.

Conclusions:

The arousal level of pleasant facial expressions significantly enhances facial mimicry.
The arousal level of unpleasant facial expressions does not appear to modulate facial mimicry, irrespective of presentation dynamics.