Individual differences in the metacontrol of lateralization for recognizing facial expressions of emotion

Subjects judged whether two faces expressed same or different emotions. Subjects were alternately instructed to empathize with or label the first face which was shown for eight seconds. The second face was then exposed briefly in either the left or right visual field. Eighteen subjects had contrasting hemisphere superiorities in accuracy for making same/different judgments under the two instructions, whereas 12 subjects had consistent hemisphere superiorities. It is proposed that individuals may differ in the metacontrol of lateralization on a task, such that for some individuals, the hemisphere controlling cognitive operations can switch as a function of instructions, expectations, and strategies. For other individuals, the metacontrol of lateralization may dictate that the same hemisphere always controls processing on a particular task.