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That “poker face” just might lose you the game! The impact of expressive suppression and mimicry on sensitivity to facial expressions of emotion

That “poker face” just might lose you the game! The impact of expressive suppression and mimicry on sensitivity to facial expressions of emotion
That “poker face” just might lose you the game! The impact of expressive suppression and mimicry on sensitivity to facial expressions of emotion
Successful interpersonal functioning often requires both the ability to mask inner feelings and the ability to accurately recognize others’ expressions—but what if effortful control of emotional expressions impacts the ability to accurately read others? In this study, we examined the influence of self-controlled expressive suppression and mimicry on facial affect sensitivity—the speed with which one can accurately identify gradually intensifying facial expressions of emotion. Muscle activity of the brow (corrugator, related to anger), upper lip (levator, related to disgust), and cheek (zygomaticus, related to happiness) were recorded using facial electromyography while participants randomized to one of three conditions (Suppress, Mimic, and No-Instruction) viewed a series of six distinct emotional expressions (happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust) as they morphed from neutral to full expression. As hypothesized, individuals instructed to suppress their own facial expressions showed impairment in facial affect sensitivity. Conversely, mimicry of emotion expressions appeared to facilitate facial affect sensitivity. Results suggest that it is difficult for a person to be able to simultaneously mask inner feelings and accurately “read” the facial expressions of others, at least when these expressions are at low intensity. The combined behavioral and physiological data suggest that the strategies an individual selects to control his or her own expression of emotion have important implications for interpersonal functioning.
1528-3542
852-866
Schneider, K.S.
c844739c-455f-49da-9a59-ef78aa8268c3
Hempel, R.J.
2dfa9856-74dd-49b5-86e6-f78eace6727f
Lynch, T.R.
29e90123-0aef-46c8-b320-1617fb48bb20
Schneider, K.S.
c844739c-455f-49da-9a59-ef78aa8268c3
Hempel, R.J.
2dfa9856-74dd-49b5-86e6-f78eace6727f
Lynch, T.R.
29e90123-0aef-46c8-b320-1617fb48bb20

Schneider, K.S., Hempel, R.J. and Lynch, T.R. (2013) That “poker face” just might lose you the game! The impact of expressive suppression and mimicry on sensitivity to facial expressions of emotion. Emotion, 13 (5), 852-866. (doi:10.1037/a0032847). (PMID:23795586)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Successful interpersonal functioning often requires both the ability to mask inner feelings and the ability to accurately recognize others’ expressions—but what if effortful control of emotional expressions impacts the ability to accurately read others? In this study, we examined the influence of self-controlled expressive suppression and mimicry on facial affect sensitivity—the speed with which one can accurately identify gradually intensifying facial expressions of emotion. Muscle activity of the brow (corrugator, related to anger), upper lip (levator, related to disgust), and cheek (zygomaticus, related to happiness) were recorded using facial electromyography while participants randomized to one of three conditions (Suppress, Mimic, and No-Instruction) viewed a series of six distinct emotional expressions (happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust) as they morphed from neutral to full expression. As hypothesized, individuals instructed to suppress their own facial expressions showed impairment in facial affect sensitivity. Conversely, mimicry of emotion expressions appeared to facilitate facial affect sensitivity. Results suggest that it is difficult for a person to be able to simultaneously mask inner feelings and accurately “read” the facial expressions of others, at least when these expressions are at low intensity. The combined behavioral and physiological data suggest that the strategies an individual selects to control his or her own expression of emotion have important implications for interpersonal functioning.

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Accepted/In Press date: 24 June 2013
Published date: October 2013
Organisations: Psychology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 351073
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/351073
ISSN: 1528-3542
PURE UUID: fd55c4ca-f86b-4a99-8fa5-5e79647988a6
ORCID for T.R. Lynch: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1270-6097

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Date deposited: 15 Apr 2013 12:51
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:32

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Contributors

Author: K.S. Schneider
Author: R.J. Hempel
Author: T.R. Lynch ORCID iD

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