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Decoding the meaning of facial expressions is a major pathway of human communication and has been extensively studied as a basic facet of emotional intelligence. In order to better understand the structure and specificity of the abilities subsumed under emotion decoding from faces (facial emotion perception and facial emotion recognition), the multivariate measurement of individual differences is essential. In the present study, we focused on the abilities to perceive and recognize facial expressions of emotions and investigated their internal structure and nomological net. N = 269 participants with a heterogeneous educational background completed a large test battery including multiple assessment paradigms substantiated in basic experimental research. Results allowed establishing task-general measurement models of facial emotion perception (EP) and recognition (ER). In these measurement models emotion category-related specificity was negligible. The most important conclusion from the present study is the strongly limited specific variance in perceptual performance of certain emotion related facial expressions and emotion decoding from faces in general, relative to face identity processing and fluid cognitive abilities (figural reasoning, working memory and immediate and delayed memory). We discuss implications of the present results for building the nomological net of emotional intelligence and outline desiderata for future research.
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Event‐related potentials (ERPs) revealed effects of emotional meaning on word recognition at distinguishable processing stages, in rare cases even in the P1 time range. However, the boundary conditions of these effects, such as the roles of different levels of linguistic processing or the relative contributions of the emotional valence and arousal dimensions, remain to be fully understood. The present study addresses this issue by employing two tasks of different processing demands on words that orthogonally varied in their emotional valence and arousal. Effects of emotional valence in ERPs were evident from 100 ms after word onset and showed a task-insensitive processing advantage for positive words. Early posterior negativity (EPN) effects to high-arousing words were limited to the lexical decision task, corroborating recent reports that suggested that perceptual processing as reflected in the EPN might not be as automatic as previously assumed.
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The usefulness of the event-related potential (ERP) method can be compromised by violations of the underlying assumptions, for example, confounding variations of latency and amplitude of ERP components within and between conditions. Here we show how the ERP subtraction method might yield misleading information due to latency variability of ERP components. We propose a solution to this problem by correcting for latency variability using Residue Iteration Decomposition (RIDE), demonstrated with data from representative go/no-go experiments. The overlap of N2 and P3 components in go/no-go data gives rise to spurious topographical localization of the no-go–N2 component. RIDE decomposes N2 and P3 based on their latency variability. The decomposition restored the N2 topography by removing the contamination from latency-variable late components. The RIDE-derived N2 and P3 give a clearer insight about their functional relevance in the go/no-go paradigm.
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The degree to which emotional aspects of stimuli are processed automatically is controversial. Here, we assessed the automatic elicitation of emotion-related brain potentials (ERPs) to positive, negative, and neutral words and facial expressions in an easy and superficial face-word discrimination task, for which the emotional valence was irrelevant. Both emotional words and facial expressions impacted ERPs already between 50 and 100 ms after stimulus onset, possibly reflecting rapid relevance detection. Following this initial processing stage only emotionality in faces but not in words was associated with an early posterior negativity (EPN). Therefore, when emotion is irrelevant in a task which requires superficial stimulus analysis, automatically enhanced sensory encoding of emotional content appears to occur only for evolutionary prepared emotional stimuli, as reflected in larger EPN amplitudes to faces, but not to symbolic word stimuli.
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Faces provide identity- and emotion-related information—basic cues for mastering social interactions. Traditional models of face recognition suggest that following a very first initial stage the processing streams for facial identity and expression depart. In the present study we extended our previous multivariate investigations of face identity processing abilities to the speed of recognising facially expressed emotions. Analyses are based on a sample of N = 151 young adults. First, we established a measurement model with a higher order factor for the speed of recognising facially expressed emotions (SRE). This model has acceptable fit without specifying emotion-specific relations between indicators. Next, we assessed whether SRE can be reliably distinguished from the speed of recognising facial identity (SRI) and found latent factors for SRE and SRI to be perfectly correlated. In contrast, SRE and SRI were both only moderately related to a latent factor for the speed of recognising non-face stimuli (SRNF). We conclude that the processing of facial stimuli—and not the processing of facially expressed basic emotions—is the critical component of SRE. These findings are at variance with suggestions of separate routes for processing facial identity and emotional facial expressions and suggest much more communality between these streams as far as the aspect of processing speed is concerned.
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The functional locus of emotional valence in word processing remains an open question. In event-related potentials, emotion has been found to elicit an early posterior negativity (EPN), which is assumed to reflect attention catching by the words’ meaning. Previously, the EPN was modulated by word category with verbs exhibiting longer EPN latencies compared with other word categories. Here we examined whether concreteness, a semantic variable, influences emotion processing. Within a lexical decision task for verbs, emotional valence (positive, negative, and neutral) was orthogonally combined with concreteness (concrete and abstract). EPN onset was found already at 250 ms post-stimulus for concrete verbs, whereas it started 50 ms later for abstract verbs. Concreteness effects occurred after the start of main effects of emotion. Thus, the elicitation of the EPN seems to be based on semantic processes, with emotional valence being accessed before other semantic aspects such as concreteness of verbs.
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Recognizing faces swiftly and accurately is of paramount importance to humans as a social species. Individual differences in the ability to perform these tasks may therefore reflect important aspects of social or emotional intelligence. Although functional models of face cognition based on group and single case studies postulate multiple component processes, little is known about the ability structure underlying individual differences in face cognition. In 2 large individual differences experiments (N = 151 and N = 209), a broad variety of face-cognition tasks were tested and the component abilities of face cognition—face perception, face memory, and the speed of face cognition—were identified and then replicated. Experiment 2 also showed that the 3 face-cognition abilities are clearly distinct from immediate and delayed memory, mental speed, general cognitive ability, and object cognition. These results converge with functional and neuroanatomical models of face cognition by demonstrating the difference between face perception and face memory. The results also underline the importance of distinguishing between speed and accuracy of face cognition. Together our results provide a first step toward establishing face-processing abilities as an independent ability reflecting elements of social intelligence.
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Plot suspense is one of the most important components of narrative fiction that motivate recipients to follow fictional characters through their worlds. The present study investigates the dynamic development of narrative suspense in excerpts of literary classics from the 19th century in a multi-methodological approach. For two texts, differing in suspense as judged by a large independent sample, we collected (a) data from questionnaires, indicating different affective and cognitive dimensions of receptive engagement, (b) continuous ratings of suspense during text reception from both experts and lay recipients, and (c) registration of pupil diameter as a physiological indicator of changes in emotional arousal and attention during reception. Data analyses confirmed differences between the two texts at different dimensions of receptive engagement and, importantly, revealed significant correlations of pupil diameter and the course of suspense over time. Our findings demonstrate that changes of the pupil diameter provide a reliable ‘online’ indicator of suspense.
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Affect and motivation influence the error-related negativity (ERN) elicited by full errors; however, it is unknown whether they also influence ERNs to correct responses accompanied by covert incorrect response activation (partial errors). Here we compared a neutral condition with conditions, where correct responses were rewarded or where incorrect responses were punished with gains and losses of small amounts of money, respectively. Data analysis distinguished ERNs elicited by full and partial errors. In the reward and punishment conditions, ERN amplitudes to both full and partial errors were larger than in the neutral condition, confirming participants’ sensitivity to the significance of errors. We also investigated the relationships between ERN amplitudes and the behavioral inhibition and activation systems (BIS/BAS). Regardless of reward/punishment condition, participants scoring higher on BAS showed smaller ERN amplitudes in full error trials. These findings provide further evidence that the ERN is related to motivational valence and that similar relationships hold for both full and partial errors.
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Emotion effects on cognition have often been reported. However, only few studies investigated emotional effects on subsequent language processing, and in most cases these effects were induced by non-linguistic stimuli such as films, faces, or pictures. Here, we investigated how a paragraph of positive, negative, or neutral emotional valence affects the processing of a subsequent emotionally neutral sentence, which contained either semantic, syntactic, or no violation, respectively, by means of event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Behavioral data revealed strong effects of emotion; error rates and reaction times increased significantly in sentences preceded by a positive paragraph relative to negative and neutral ones. In ERPs, the N400 to semantic violations was not affected by emotion. In the syntactic experiment, however, clear emotion effects were observed on ERPs. The left anterior negativity (LAN) to syntactic violations, which was not visible in the neutral condition, was present in the negative and positive conditions. This is interpreted as reflecting modulatory effects of prior emotions on syntactic processing, which is discussed in the light of three alternative or complementary explanations based on emotion-induced cognitive styles, working memory, and arousal models. The present effects of emotion on the LAN are especially remarkable considering that syntactic processing has often been regarded as encapsulated and autonomous.
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We studied the case of transparent word labels (e.g., 'push') placed on glass doors, when viewed from the other side as mirror-reversed script, hence requiring an action opposite to word meaning. As compared with a regular view, labels seen 'from the other side' in the glass door situation caused strong delays of actions and a tripling of error rates. This problem is unrelated to mirror reading but is at least partially due to the need to act opposite to word meaning. The glass door effect was not related to practice and age and showed no adaptation effect after incompatible trials. Distribution analyses showed an increased correct reaction time (RT) effect for slower responses, whereas accuracy effects were specific for fast responses. In the literature, problems with such mixed mappings have often been interpreted in the sense of competing action tendencies. Experiments 1 to 4, however, demonstrated that this might merely be a task difficulty effect due to the necessity for a mental transformation in case of mirror-reversed labels. Moreover, our results strongly advocate against using transparent labels because they may pose a considerable risk.
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In so-called garden-path jokes, an initial semantic representation is violated, and semantic revision reestablishes a coherent representation. 48 jokes were manipulated in three conditions: (i) a coherent ending, (ii) a joke ending, and (iii) a discourse-incoherent ending. A reading times study (N = 24) and three studies with recordings of ERP and pupil changes (N = 21, 24, and 24, respectively) supported the hypothesized cognitive processes. Jokes showed increased reading times of the final word compared to coherent endings. ERP data mainly indicated semantic integration difficulties (N400). Larger pupil diameters to joke endings presumably reflect emotional responses. ERP evidence for increased discourse processing efforts and emotional responses, as assumed to be reflected in modulations of the late left anterior negativity (LLAN) and in an enhanced late frontal positivity (fP600), respectively, remains however incomplete. Processing of incoherent endings was also accompanied by increased reading times, a stronger and sustained N400, and context-sensitive P600 effects. Together, these findings provide evidence for a sequential, non-monotonic, and incremental discourse comprehension of garden-path jokes.
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For emotional pictures with fear-, disgust-, or sex-related contents, stimulus size has been shown to increase emotion effects in attention-related event-related potentials (ERPs), presumably reflecting the enhanced biological impact of larger emotion-inducing pictures. If this is true, size should not enhance emotion effects for written words with symbolic and acquired meaning. Here, we investigated ERP effects of font size for emotional and neutral words. While P1 and N1 amplitudes were not affected by emotion, the early posterior negativity started earlier and lasted longer for large relative to small words. These results suggest that emotion-driven facilitation of attention is not necessarily based on biological relevance, but might generalize to stimuli with arbitrary perceptual features. This finding points to the high relevance of written language in today’s society as an important source of emotional meaning.
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Facial attractiveness is of high importance for human interaction and communication, and everyday experience suggests that the mere aspect of a face elicits spontaneous appraisal of attractiveness. However, little is known about the time course of brain responses related to this process. In the present study, event-related brain potentials were recorded during attractiveness classification of facial portraits that were standardized with respect to facial expression. The faces were either preceded by another face of high or low attractiveness or by an affectively neutral object. Attractive as opposed to non-attractive target faces elicited an early posterior negativity (EPN; ∼250 ms) and a late parietal positivity (LPC; 400-600 ms), which were not modulated by affectively congruent prime faces. Elevated LPC activity had previously been shown in response to attractive versus non-attractive faces, possibly reflecting task-related evaluative processes. An enhanced EPN had been reported for faces with emotional compared to neutral emotional expression, and related to facilitated selection of emotional information. Extending these findings, our study is the first to report an attractiveness-related ERP modulation prior to the LPC, suggesting that appraising facial attractiveness starts already at processing stages associated with stimulus selection.
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We used facial EMG to examine reactions to the attractiveness of natural (faces) and artificial (abstract patterns) stimuli under long and short presentation durations. Attractive stimuli produced strong activations of the M. zygomaticus major muscle, indicating positive affective reactions; and unattractive stimuli produced strong activations of the M. corrugator supercili muscle, indicating negative affective reactions. Fluency effects, indicated by stronger activations of the M. zygomaticus major under the longer presentation duration were, however, only found for the abstract patterns. Moreover, the abstract patterns also were associated with more consistent activations over time than the faces, suggesting differences in the processes underlying the evaluation of faces and patterns. We discuss these results in terms of differences in appraisal processes between the two classes of stimuli—the greater biological, social, and sociosexual significance of faces trigger more complex appraisals than the abstract patterns.
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Emotion effects in event-related brain potentials (ERPs) have previously been reported for a range of visual stimuli, including emotional words, pictures, and facial expressions. Still, little is known about the actual comparability of emotion effects across these stimulus classes. The present study aimed to fill this gap by investigating emotion effects in response to words, pictures, and facial expressions using a blocked within-subject design. Furthermore, ratings of stimulus arousal and valence were collected from an independent sample of participants. Modulations of early posterior negativity (EPN) and late positive complex (LPC) were visible for all stimulus domains, but showed clear differences, particularly in valence processing. While emotion effects were limited to positive stimuli for words, they were predominant for negative stimuli in pictures and facial expressions.These findings corroborate the notion of a positivity offset for words and a negativity bias for pictures and facial expressions, which was assumed to be caused by generally lower arousal levels of written language. Interestingly, however, these assumed differences were not confirmed by arousal ratings. Instead, words were rated as overall more positive than pictures and facial expressions. Taken together, the present results point toward systematic differences in the processing of written words and pictorial stimuli of emotional content, not only in terms of a valence bias evident in ERPs, but also concerning their emotional evaluation captured by ratings of stimulus valence and arousal.
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Recent research suggests that emotion effects in word processing resemble those in other stimulus domains such as pictures or faces. The present study aims to provide more direct evidence for this notion by comparing emotion effects in word and face processing in a within-subject design. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded as participants made decisions on the lexicality of emotionally positive, negative, and neutral German verbs or pseudowords, and on the integrity of intact happy, angry, and neutral faces or slightly distorted faces. Relative to neutral and negative stimuli both positive verbs and happy faces elicited posterior ERP negativities that were indistinguishable in scalp distribution and resembled the early posterior negativities reported by others. Importantly, these ERP modulations appeared at very different latencies. Therefore, it appears that similar brain systems reflect the decoding of both biological and symbolic emotional signals of positive valenc
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On the basis of current emotion theories and functional and neurophysiological ties between the processing of conflicts and errors on the one hand and errors and emotions on the other hand we predicted that conflicts between prepotent Go responses and occasional NoGo trials in the Go/NoGo task would induce emotions. Skin conductance responses (SCRs), corrugator muscle activity, and startle blink responses were measured in three experiments requiring speeded Go responses intermixed with NoGo trials of different relative probability and in a choice reaction experiment serving as a control. NoGo trials affected several of these emotion-sensitive indicators as SCRs and startle blinks were reduced whereas corrugator activity was prolonged as compared to Go trials. From the pattern of findings we suggest that NoGo conflicts are not aversive. Instead, they appear to be appraised as obstructive for the response goal and as less action relevant than Go trials.
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It has been suggested that cognitive conflicts require effortful processing and, therefore, are aversive. In the present study, we compared conflicts emerging from the inhibition of a predominant response tendency in a go/no-go task with those between incompatible response activations in a Simon task in a within-subjects design, using the same type of stimuli. Whereas no-go trials elicited reduced skin conductance and pupillometric responses, but prolonged corrugator muscle activity, as compared with go trials, incompatible and compatible Simon trials were indistinguishable with respect to these parameters. Furthermore, the conflict-sensitive N2 components of the event-related brain potential were similar in amplitude, but showed significantly different scalp distributions, indicating dissociable neural generator systems. The present findings suggest the involvement of different emotional and cognitive processes in both types of cognitive conflicts-none being aversive, however. In addition, the N2 findings call into question claims of common monitoring systems for all kinds of cognitive conflicts.
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Abstract: Pupillary responses have been shown to be sensitive to both task load and emotional content. We investigated the interplay of these factors in the processing of single words that varied in emotional valence and arousal. Two tasks of different cognitive load, uninstructed reading and a lexical decision task, were employed, followed by an unannounced recognition task. Reaction times were faster and incidental memory performance was better for high‐arousing than for low‐arousing words. In contrast to previous findings for pictures and sounds, high‐arousing words elicited smaller pupillary responses than low‐arousing words; these effects were independent of task load, which increased pupil diameter. Therefore, emotional arousal attributed to words does not mandatorily activate the autonomic nervous system, but rather works on a cognitive level, facilitating word processing.
