title: Empathy, but not mimicry restriction, influences the recognition of change in emotional facial expressions.
abstract: The current study addressed the hypothesis that empathy and the restriction of facial muscles of observers can influence recognition of emotional facial expressions. A sample of 74 participants recognized the subjective onset of emotional facial expressions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise, and neutral) in a series of morphed face photographs showing a gradual change (frame by frame) from one expression to another. The high-empathy (as measured by the Empathy Quotient) participants recognized emotional facial expressions at earlier photographs from the series than did low-empathy ones, but there was no difference in the exploration time. Restriction of facial muscles of observers (with plasters and a stick in mouth) did not influence the responses. We discuss these findings in the context of the embodied simulation theory and previous data on empathy.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Murcia , Murcia , Spain.
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kosonogov
authors.forename: Alisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Titova
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vorobyeva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D004645:Empathy / Q000502:physiology*; D005145:Face; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009132:Muscles / Q000502:physiology; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Embodied simulation; Emotion recognition; Empathy; Mimicry