FACIAL MOTION IN PERCEPTION OF FACES AND OF EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION

Investigated the role of movement of the surface of the face in the perception of faces using a technique adapted from G. Johansson (1973). Faces that were covered with black makeup and numerous white spots were video recorded while expressing emotions and while grimacing. These recordings were played back to 160 adult observers so that only the white spots were visible. The results demonstrate that faces were easily recognized in conditions in which motion of the face was visible. In a 2nd experiment, accuracy in the recognition of 6 fundamental emotions on the basis of facial motion alone and of full faces was compared using 192 observers. Those seeing only facial movement were more accurate than expected by chance, although less accurate than when viewing the full face. The errors they made in judging from facial movement alone were similar to those they made when viewing the whole face. Results support the proposition that movement of the surface of the face provides sufficient information for the perception of faces and for the discrimination of some emotions. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1978 American Psychological Association.