title: Sex differences in asymmetrically perceiving the intensity of facial expressions.
abstract: Emotional facial expressions are often asymmetrical, with the left half of the face typically displaying the stronger affective intensity cues. During facial perception, however, most right-handed individuals are biased toward facial affect cues projecting to their own left visual hemifield. Consequently, mirror-reversed faces are typically rated as more emotionally intense than when presented normally. Mirror-reversal permits the most intense side of the expresser's face to project to the visual hemifield biased for processing facial affect cues. This study replicated the mirror-reversal effect in 21 men and 49 women (aged 18-52 yr.) using a videotaped free viewing presentation but also showed the effect of facial orientation is moderated by the sex of the perceiver. The mirror-reversal effect was significant only for men but not for women, suggesting possible sex differences in cerebral organization of systems for facial perception.
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA. killgore@mail.med.upenn.edu
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Killgore
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Gangestad
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004644:Emotions; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D012938:Social Perception; D014796:Visual Perception