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Can Facial Expressions Induce Haptic Perception?
IEEE Transactions on Haptics
|May 12, 2023
Summary
Facial expressions significantly influence our sense of touch. Negative facial expressions in human-agent interactions increase perceived force, impacting social touch perception.
Area of Science:
- Haptics
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Designing effective social touch in haptics requires understanding the interplay between physical and social stimuli.
- Social touch interactions inherently involve a partner, making social cues critical for perception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether facial expressions can induce changes in haptic perception.
- To quantify the effect of social stimuli (facial expressions) on perceived physical force during human-agent interaction.
Main Methods:
- Developed a human-agent interaction system where participants controlled a cursor against a simulated opposing force.
- Agents displayed either negative or neutral facial expressions during the interaction.
- Quantified perceived force using the control display ratio via a psychophysical approach.
Main Results:
- A negative facial expression significantly increased perceived force compared to a neutral face.
- Perceived force correlated positively with participants' subjective evaluation of the facial expression's unpleasantness and arousal.
Conclusions:
- Facial expressions are a potent social stimulus that can modulate haptic perception.
- Findings inform the design of social touch systems, enhancing mediated and physical interactions by considering emotional cues.
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