Date Thesis Awarded
4-2017
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Arts (BA)
Department
Psychology
Advisor
Thomas Daniel
Committee Members
Christopher Conway
Jaime Settle
Abstract
Do we see every facial expression from people with whom we come into contact? By replicating an experiment by Porter, ten Brinke, and Wallace (2011), this scaled-down study examined if high-intensity images elicit incorrect emotional “leakage” in participants’ facial expressions. The idea facial expressions may not be fully consciously controlled emerged from Darwin’s (1872) “inhibition hypothesis.” Some facial expressions are too intense to voluntarily control, and thus cannot be fully controlled at all times. In the present study, 21 participants were asked to perform facial expressions (reflecting happiness, sadness, and fear) while viewing a series of images that varied in emotional valence. Some of the images were congruent with the expression the participant was instructed to maintain, while others were incongruent. Video recordings of each participant’s facial expressions were then examined to see if any facial expression “leakage” occurred while they attempted to mask emotions during the study (189 total expressions and 28,350 individual slides). Statistically significant results supported the hypotheses and past research: facial expression leakage occurs more when viewing incongruent images with masked expressions than when viewing congruent images with genuine expressions.
Recommended Citation
Jens, Samuel Ault, "Can You See It? Facial Expression Leakage in Response to Emotional Intensity" (2017). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 1124.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1124
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