Value computations underpin flexible emotion expression

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Computational Social Science

Background:

• Emotion expressions are crucial for social connection.
• Individuals sometimes suppress or substitute genuine emotions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To understand how people decide when and what emotion to express.
• To develop a computational model of emotion expression as value-based decisions.

Main Methods:

• Developed a computational model.
• Analyzed expressive behaviors in a social context (N=254).

Main Results:

• People suppress anger expressions due to anticipated social costs.
• Nuanced expressive regulation occurs, especially when reputation is involved.
• Happiness expressions are selectively exaggerated or suppressed based on fairness of others' choices.

Conclusions:

• Emotion expression is a flexible, value-based communicative decision.
• Findings provide a mechanistic account of diverse expressive regulation strategies.
• This research illuminates how individuals navigate social interactions through emotion display.