Author/Authors :
Ursula Hess، نويسنده , , Reginald B. Adams and Robert E. Kleck، نويسنده ,
Abstract :
The role of horizontal head tilt for the perceptions
of emotional facial expressions was examined. For
this, a total of 387 participants rated facial expressions of
anger, fear, sadness, and happiness, as well as neutral
expressions shown by two men and two women in either a
direct or an averted face angle. Decoding accuracy, attributions
of dominance and affiliation, emotional reactions
of the perceivers, and the felt desire to approach the expresser
were assessed. Head position was found to strongly
influence reactions to anger and fear but less so for other
emotions. Direct anger expressions were more accurately
decoded, perceived as less affiliative, and elicited higher
levels of anxiousness and repulsion, as well as less desire to
approach than did averted anger expressions. Conversely,
for fear expressions averted faces elicited more negative
affect in the perceiver. These findings suggest that horizontal
head position is an important cue for the assessment
of threat.
