title: Feeling bad and looking worse: negative affect is associated with reduced perceptions of face-healthiness.
abstract: Some people perceive themselves to look more, or less attractive than they are in reality. We investigated the role of emotions in enhancement and derogation effects; specifically, whether the propensity to experience positive and negative emotions affects how healthy we perceive our own face to look and how we judge ourselves against others. A psychophysical method was used to measure healthiness of self-image and social comparisons of healthiness. Participants who self-reported high positive (N = 20) or negative affectivity (N = 20) judged themselves against healthy (red-tinged) and unhealthy looking (green-tinged) versions of their own and stranger's faces. An adaptive staircase procedure was used to measure perceptual thresholds. Participants high in positive affectivity were un-biased in their face health judgement. Participants high in negative affectivity on the other hand, judged themselves as equivalent to less healthy looking versions of their own face and a stranger's face. Affective traits modulated self-image and social comparisons of healthiness. Face health judgement was also related to physical symptom perception and self-esteem; high physical symptom reports were associated a less healthy self-image and high self-reported (but not implicit) self-esteem was associated with more favourable social comparisons of healthiness. Subject to further validation, our novel face health judgement task could have utility as a perceptual measure of well-being. We are currently investigating whether face health judgement is sensitive to laboratory manipulations of mood.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mirams
authors.affiliation: School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Poliakoff
authors.affiliation: Unilever R&D, Vlaardingen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Elizabeth H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Zandstra
authors.affiliation: Unilever R&D, Vlaardingen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoeksma
authors.affiliation: Unilever R&D, Port Sunlight, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Wael
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: El-Deredy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D004644:Emotions; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult