title: The effect of facial expressions on peripersonal and interpersonal spaces.
abstract: Identifying individuals' intent through the emotional valence conveyed by their facial expression influences our capacity to approach-avoid these individuals during social interactions. Here, we explore if and how the emotional valence of others' facial expressiveness modulates peripersonal-action and interpersonal-social spaces. Through Immersive Virtual Reality, participants determined reachability-distance (for peripersonal space) and comfort-distance (for interpersonal space) from male/female virtual confederates exhibiting happy, angry and neutral facial expressions while being approached by (passive-approach) or walking toward (active-approach) them. Results showed an increase of distance when seeing angry rather than happy confederates in both approach conditions of comfort-distance. The effect also appeared in reachability-distance, but only in the passive-approach. Anger prompts avoidant behaviors, and thus an expansion of distance, particularly with a potential violation of near body space by an intruder. Overall, the findings suggest that peripersonal-action space, in comparison with interpersonal-social space, is similarly sensitive to the emotional valence of stimuli. We propose that this similarity could reflect a common adaptive mechanism shared by these spaces, presumably at different degrees, for ensuring self-protection functions.
authors: Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Immersive Virtual Reality, CS-IVR, Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy. gennaro.ruggiero@unina2.it.
authors: Gennaro
authors: G
authors: Ruggiero
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors: Francesca
authors: F
authors: Frassinetti
authors: Cognitive and Affective Sciences Laboratory, UMR CNRS 9193, University of Lille, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France.
authors: Yann
authors: Y
authors: Coello
authors: Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Immersive Virtual Reality, CS-IVR, Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy.
authors: Mariachiara
authors: M
authors: Rapuano
authors: Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Immersive Virtual Reality, CS-IVR, Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy.
authors: Armando Schiano
authors: AS
authors: di Cola
authors: Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Immersive Virtual Reality, CS-IVR, Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy.
authors: Tina
authors: T
authors: Iachini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D004644:Emotions; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010550:Personal Space; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult