Detecting facial expressions within a context of surprise and uncertainty
Abstract Threatening expressions are detected quickly and accurately, warning the observer of the presence of a potential danger. During the detection process, a facial expression of surprise could play an important role as a cue for orientation in conditions of uncertainty that call for a swift and precise response. With a view to analysing this contingency, an experiment was conducted in which 70 subjects undertook a spatial cueing task that involved facial expressions of surprise (vs. neutral ones) as orientation cues, and facial expressions of fear, anger and happiness as target stimuli. The results revealed a priming effect of the expression of surprise solely in the detection of the expression of anger, reducing response times and the percentage of errors. The data indicate that the expression of surprise, when processed as an independent stimulus, could prime the detection of those stimuli that constitute a direct threat, such as the expression of anger, with this being a crucial distinction for understanding the circumstances in which the expression of anger is detected more effectively than other kinds of expressions.
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Universidad de Murcia
2022
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oai:scielo:S0212-972820220002000182022-08-19Detecting facial expressions within a context of surprise and uncertaintyGordillo-León,FernandoMestas-Hernández,LiliaFernández-Núñez,MiguelPérez-Nieto,Miguel ÁngelArana-Martínez,José M Emotional facial expressions Neutral Anger Surprise Fear Spatial cueing task Abstract Threatening expressions are detected quickly and accurately, warning the observer of the presence of a potential danger. During the detection process, a facial expression of surprise could play an important role as a cue for orientation in conditions of uncertainty that call for a swift and precise response. With a view to analysing this contingency, an experiment was conducted in which 70 subjects undertook a spatial cueing task that involved facial expressions of surprise (vs. neutral ones) as orientation cues, and facial expressions of fear, anger and happiness as target stimuli. The results revealed a priming effect of the expression of surprise solely in the detection of the expression of anger, reducing response times and the percentage of errors. The data indicate that the expression of surprise, when processed as an independent stimulus, could prime the detection of those stimuli that constitute a direct threat, such as the expression of anger, with this being a crucial distinction for understanding the circumstances in which the expression of anger is detected more effectively than other kinds of expressions.Universidad de MurciaAnales de Psicología v.38 n.2 20222022-09-01journal articletext/htmlhttp://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0212-97282022000200018en |
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Gordillo-León,Fernando Mestas-Hernández,Lilia Fernández-Núñez,Miguel Pérez-Nieto,Miguel Ángel Arana-Martínez,José M |
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Gordillo-León,Fernando Mestas-Hernández,Lilia Fernández-Núñez,Miguel Pérez-Nieto,Miguel Ángel Arana-Martínez,José M Detecting facial expressions within a context of surprise and uncertainty |
author_facet |
Gordillo-León,Fernando Mestas-Hernández,Lilia Fernández-Núñez,Miguel Pérez-Nieto,Miguel Ángel Arana-Martínez,José M |
author_sort |
Gordillo-León,Fernando |
title |
Detecting facial expressions within a context of surprise and uncertainty |
title_short |
Detecting facial expressions within a context of surprise and uncertainty |
title_full |
Detecting facial expressions within a context of surprise and uncertainty |
title_fullStr |
Detecting facial expressions within a context of surprise and uncertainty |
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Detecting facial expressions within a context of surprise and uncertainty |
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detecting facial expressions within a context of surprise and uncertainty |
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Abstract Threatening expressions are detected quickly and accurately, warning the observer of the presence of a potential danger. During the detection process, a facial expression of surprise could play an important role as a cue for orientation in conditions of uncertainty that call for a swift and precise response. With a view to analysing this contingency, an experiment was conducted in which 70 subjects undertook a spatial cueing task that involved facial expressions of surprise (vs. neutral ones) as orientation cues, and facial expressions of fear, anger and happiness as target stimuli. The results revealed a priming effect of the expression of surprise solely in the detection of the expression of anger, reducing response times and the percentage of errors. The data indicate that the expression of surprise, when processed as an independent stimulus, could prime the detection of those stimuli that constitute a direct threat, such as the expression of anger, with this being a crucial distinction for understanding the circumstances in which the expression of anger is detected more effectively than other kinds of expressions. |
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Universidad de Murcia |
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2022 |
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http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0212-97282022000200018 |
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