Facial feedback hypothesis

The facial feedback hypothesis states that facial muscle movements influence one's own emotional experience. Persons who are, for example, stopped to smile during an event, this event will be in retrospect probably as a positive and pleasurable feel than those who contracted her eyebrows.

Scientific studies ( Strack et al., 1988 ) show that emotions of facial muscle movements are initiated and modulated. However, there is no need of facial motion for emotions (example: Poker Face). Previous research ( Buck, 1980; McCanne et al, 1987. ) Uses to verify the facial feedback theory mainly two facial expressions: the happy and the angry / angry expression. When cheerful facial expression of " zygomaticus major " - and the " Risorius " muscle activated. The Angry / Mad expression is caused by activity of the " corrugator " muscle and the " orbicularis oris " muscle.

• 5.1 Strack et al.
• 5.2 Ito et al.
• 5.3 Further research questions

Formation

On the origin of the facial feedback theory Charles Darwin contributed significantly by 1872 he postulated that promoting or inhibiting the expression of emotion influences the intensity of the felt emotion. William James advanced this theory in 1890 to a physical component, by claiming that physical changes, facial movements included, emotions are. The changes of the body follows according to James, then the subjective experience of emotion.

Based on these two hypotheses emerged the following versions of the facial feedback hypothesis:

Ambiguities

Although specific research since about 1970, there are still uncertainties and disagreement, such as facial expressions affect emotional reactions. This is helpful to distinguish between two approaches to explanation:

Strack, Martin and Stepper methodological approach

Fritz Strack and his colleagues developed a new manipulation to resolve methodological shortcomings of previous studies. It included only the contraction of facial muscles and not, as previously, the imitation of facial expressions.

The manipulation included three experimental groups:

The subjects of the " teeth condition" should not hold a pencil with his teeth with the lips, resulting in the contraction of the musculus zygomaticus major and the musculus risorius. These muscles are involved in a smiling face. The subjects of the " lip condition" should not hold a pen with his lips, with the teeth, resulting in the contraction of the orbicularis oris. This muscle activity is incompatible with a smiling face. The control group should deal with the tasks with the pen in her non-dominant hand. All should assess with the special pen holding technique, among other things, how funny comics were.

The results show that subjects in the " teeth - condition" the comics as a significantly funnier rated as the subjects of the control group. This in turn assessed the comics funnier than the people in the " lip condition". This result confirms the Facial Feedback Hypothesis, and shows that both reinforcing inhibitory mechanisms act. New findings show that facial feedback acts only on the affective (ie, how amused you felt while watching ) is not on the cognitive component (ie as funny as the comics themselves are rated) of comedy. Furthermore, it was shown that the effects of manipulating only shows when the pen both during viewing, as well as during the evaluation of the comics in the respective position was maintained. If the pin holding technique used only during the assessment, then the opposite effect showed. Well gave subjects who were in fact inhibitory " lip condition ," from a more positive rating. This contrast effect is explained by the authors, that the subjects approach attracted the affections during the assessment as a reference for the reported emotional while viewing the comics. For example, were people who held the pen only during the assessment between the teeth, while the rating voted positive. They closed presumably because they were (Without smile - enhancing Pin Retention ) less positive mood while viewing the comics. This leads to the more negative assessment of the comics in this condition.

Study by Ito et al.

The spreading attitude effect

A process of indirect Konditionierens in which a positive or negative, unconditioned stimulus affects not only the evaluation of the conditioned stimulus is paired directly with the U.S., but also the evaluation of other stimuli that were previously only associated with the conditioned stimulus.

Study

The authors suggest that the known preference of Americans for white over black faces through a face configuration task by the method of Strack et al. (1988) can be influenced: In two studies of Ito et al. (2006), subjects were shown a pretext photographs of black or white faces while they either face configurations by Strack et al. (1988 ) income: You bite with the teeth on a pen without the lips touching this ( contraction of the zygomaticus major, which is also activated when smiling ) or without manipulation. Then implicit prejudice by the Implicit Association Test ( IAT) and explicit prejudice by the Attitudes Toward Blacks Scale were measured.

Participants who took the Smile - congruent facial configuration while they saw black faces rated this implicit ( IAT ) was significantly less negative than subjects who showed the facial configuration while they saw white faces. Both the explicit evaluation by the ATB and the condition assessment by the PANAS remained unchanged: The subjects did not feel happy. This indicates that facial feedback has a greater effect on implicit and explicit prejudice.

Critical discussion

The study by Strack et al. (1988 ) supports the Facial Feedback Hypothesis, showing that a manipulation of the purely physical muscle activity can influence the emotional experience. Ito et al. (2006 ) show that this manipulation can lead to a different assessment of other persons, without affecting one's own emotional experience.

Strack et al.

Methodologically to Strack et al. (1988 ) noted that is not entirely clear what effect the pure duration of the " pencil hold" on the results. Processes such as Accessibility Bias could also have an influence. The idea is that the contraction of the muscles associated with the cognitive construct of emotion, this activates and makes easier to access later on.

Ito et al.

In Ito et al. (2006) is a relatively artificial experimental setup, its general applicability has yet to be assigned to the everyday world. Based on their data, no information can make about the impact the change in the implicit racial bias on behavior. Should show that manipulation of ethnic prejudice is made ​​possible by the contraction of facial muscles, however, this would be for two reasons an important finding: First, it would be a methodologically relevant evidence that implicit biases are less stable than previously thought. Second, the use in application projects is conceivable that aim at a reduction of prejudices and stereotypes.

Further research questions

Outgoing research is needed, for example, the following research questions: Show up feedback processes with other emotions such as Anger? How does the underlying neural processing and the role of mirror neurons doing? How depends Facial feedback together with findings that suggest that people have a tendency to imitate other automatically? Can the interaction of automatic imitation and facial feedback processes explain empathy or social learning of emotions? Research on facial feedback hypothesis has contributed important findings on the experimental research on emotion and offers many research suggestions for the future.