Hemisphere differences in perceiving positive and negative emotions.
Two experiments tested the hypothesis that positive emotions are processed primarily by the left hemisphere and negative emotions by the right hemisphere. In both experiments, facial expressions of positive and negative emotions were briefly presented to the left and right visual fields of normal dextral subjects. Experiment 1 investigated hemisphere differences in accuracy for naming the emotions, and Experiment 2 examined hemisphere differences in judging the intensity of the emotional expressions. Neither experiment found support for the hypothesized relationship. It was concluded that differential hemisphere involvement in processing positive and negative emotions, as suggested by previous studies, may occur, but only for the production, and not the perception of emotional expressions.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*