A role for affectivity in rapid facial mimicry: An electromyographic study

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Social Psychology
• Affective Science

Background:

• Facial expressions of emotion elicit rapid, congruent facial reactions in observers.
• The nature of this facial mimicry is debated: is it automatic motor matching or indicative of affective processing?

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether rapid facial reactions to emotional expressions are purely motor mimicry or reflect underlying affective processes.
• To differentiate between motor matching and affective processing in facial mimicry.

Main Methods:

• Facial electromyography (EMG) was used to measure corrugator supercilii and zygomaticus major muscle activity in 60 participants.
• Participants viewed upright and inverted happy/angry facial expressions, and sad/happy eyes and mouth expressions.

Main Results:

• Facial EMG responses were consistent with the affective valence of the observed emotional expressions.
• The observed muscle activity patterns did not solely reflect a motor matching response to the stimuli.
• Findings suggest affective processing, not just motor mimicry, drives rapid facial reactions.

Conclusions:

• Rapid facial mimicry reactions to emotional expressions are underpinned by affective processing.
• This study provides evidence supporting the role of emotion processing in facial mimicry using a novel methodological approach.