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Computer-enhanced emotion in facial expressions.
Authors:
CALDER, A.J., YOUNG, A.W., Rowland, D. & Perrett, D.I.
Reference:
Proc. Royal Society of London B, 264, 919-925
Year of publication:
1997
CBU number:
3582
Abstract:
Benson and Perrett's (1991a) computer-based caricature procedure was used to alter the positions of anatomical landmarks in photographs of emotional facial expressions with respect to their locations in a reference norm face (e.g., a neutral expression). Exaggerating the differences between an expression and its norm produces caricatured images, whereas reducing the differences produces 'anti-caricatures'. Experiment 1 showed that caricatured (+50% different from neutral) expressions were recognised significantly faster than the veridical (0%, undistorted) expressions. This held for all 6 basic emotions from the Ekman and Friesen (1976) series, and the effect generalised across different posers. For Experiment 2, caricatured (+50%) and anti-caricatured (-50%) images were prepared using two types of reference norm; a neutral-expression norm which would be optimal if facial expression recognition involves monitoring changes in the positioning of underlying facial muscles, and a perceptually-based norm involving an average of the expressions of 6 basic emotions (excluding neutral) in the Ekman and Friesen (1976) series. The results showed that the caricatured images were identified significantly faster, and the anti-caricatured images significantly slower than the veridical expressions. Furthermore, the neutral-expression and average-expression norm caricatures produced the same pattern of results.