Abstract
We investigated movement differences between deliberately posed and spontaneously occurring smiles and eyebrow raises during a videotaped interview that included a facial movement assessment. Using automated facial image analysis, we quantified lip corner and eyebrow movement during periods of visible smiles and eyebrow raises and compared facial movement within participants. As in an earlier study, maximum speed of movement onset was greater in deliberate smiles. Maximum speed and amplitude were greater and duration shorter in deliberate compared to spontaneous eyebrow raises. Asymmetry of movement did not differ within participants. Similar patterns contrasting deliberate and spontaneous movement in both smiles and eyebrow raises suggest a common pattern of signaling for spontaneous facial displays.
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Notes
Spontaneous smile onsets as described here are to be distinguished from periods of smiling that are continuous in terms of facial action coding but are likely punctuated with multiple brief movements of the type described in this and other studies (Hess and Kleck 1997; Schmidt et al. 2003; Tarantili et al. 2005; Valstar et al. 2006).
Participants in the current study represent a newly collected data set at the University of Pittsburgh, independent of individuals in an earlier study (Schmidt et al. 2006).
The current study focused on movement during onset for two reasons. Onset or rapid change at the start of facial movement is the most salient feature of any facial signal (Leonard et al. 1991). Perceptual response to facial displays occurs within the average onset timing of previously studied spontaneous smiles (Dimberg and Thunberg 1998; Schmidt et al.2006a; Schmidt et al. 2003). Offsets are also by definition non independent of onsets, as they occur subsequently to onsets and are constrained in total movement as they involve the return of facial features to a more neutral position. Previous research has indicated that offset movement is very similar to that of onsets (Schmidt et al. 2006b).
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by NIMH grant 167376 to Karen L. Schmidt and the development of the Automated Facial Image Analysis system has been supported by NIMH grant MH 51435 to Jeffrey F. Cohn. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Bozena Zdaniuk and the Peer Mentored Research Development meeting in the analysis of data described in this paper and we thank anonymous reviewers for suggestions to improve this paper. This research was conducted at the University Center for Social and Urban Research at the University of Pittsburgh.
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Schmidt, K.L., Bhattacharya, S. & Denlinger, R. Comparison of Deliberate and Spontaneous Facial Movement in Smiles and Eyebrow Raises. J Nonverbal Behav 33, 35–45 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10919-008-0058-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10919-008-0058-6