Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 21, 2025
19:53
Single-stage Dynamic Reanimation of the Smile in Irreversible Facial Paralysis by Free Functional Muscle Transfer
Published on: March 1, 2015
106.3K
Your Face and Moves Seem Happier When I Smile
Fernando Marmolejo-Ramos1, Aiko Murata2, Kyoshiro Sasaki3,4,5
1Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning, The University of South Australia, Australia.
Experimental Psychology
|May 13, 2020
Summary
Facial muscle activity influences emotion recognition. This study found that engaging facial muscles, by holding a pen in the teeth or lips, also biases the perception of bodily expressions, not just facial ones.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Facial muscular activity can influence the perception of facial expressions.
- Previous research demonstrated that mimicking facial expressions can alter emotional perception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To replicate and extend findings on facial muscle engagement affecting emotion perception.
- To investigate if facial muscle activity influences the recognition of dynamic bodily expressions.
Main Methods:
- A multilab, within-subjects design was employed.
- Participants recognized emotions from point-light biological walkers and morphed facial stimuli.
- Facial muscle engagement was manipulated by having participants hold a pen in their teeth or lips.
Main Results:
- Replicated the finding that facial muscle activity biases facial expression recognition (lowered threshold for happy expressions).
- Demonstrated a similar effect for bodily expressions: facial muscle engagement lowered the threshold for recognizing happy walkers.
- The effect persisted when a pen was held in the lips, suggesting robustness.
Conclusions:
- Facial muscular activity modulates the recognition of both facial and bodily expressions.
- This suggests a generalized mechanism where motor feedback influences social perception.
- Findings extend the embodied cognition framework to include bodily expression recognition.
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