Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 17, 2026

Conscious and Non-conscious Representations of Emotional Faces in Asperger's Syndrome
Published on: July 31, 2016
Social attention is enhanced by facial emotions even for occluded faces
Sarah McCrackin1, Florence Mayrand2, Jelena Ristic2
1Department of Psychology, Marshall University, One John Marshall Drive, Huntington, WV, 25755, USA.
Abstract:
Human attention is spontaneously oriented in the direction of eye gaze, and more strongly if the face displays an emotional expression. However, the importance of perceiving the whole face for this gaze cuing process and its emotional enhancement remains unknown. We studied this question in two preregistered experiments, where we presented participants with averted eye gaze within faces which reacted emotionally with fearful and happy (Experiment 1) or disgusted and surprised (Experiment 2) expressions. To study the contribution of the whole face, half of the faces were occluded by a face mask and half of the faces were unoccluded. In both experiments, eye gaze produced a robust gaze cuing effect which was enhanced for faces with emotional expressions. Critically, gaze cuing and its emotional enhancement persisted under face occlusion, demonstrating the sufficiency of the upper face for the social and emotional orienting. These findings show that gaze cuing as well as its emotional enhancement does not depend on seeing the whole face.
More Related Videos
04:27Using Facial Electromyography to Assess Facial Muscle Reactions to Experienced and Observed Affective Touch in Humans
Published on: March 15, 2019
07:36Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects
Published on: November 30, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Facial Feedback Hypothesis
Causes of Social Behavior I: Actions and Characteristics of Individuals
Association Areas of the Cortex
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...
Nonconscious Mimicry
Social Facilitation
Therapeutic Communication
Verbal communication depends on language or a prescribed way of using words so that people can share information effectively. The critical aspects of verbal...