Three Patterns of Motion Which Change the Perception of Emotional Faces

Alhadi Chafi, Loris Schiaratura, Stéphane Rusinek

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DOI: 10.4236/psych.2012.31014                

Abstract

The aim of the study was to focus on the relationship between motion and emotion. Relying on studies in Behavioral Neurology and Social Psychology, it is believed motion is one of the core components of Emotion. The study uses basic emotional faces (i.e., Happy, Surprised, Fearful, Sad, Disgusted and Angry) which are presented displaying patterns of motion (i.e., a Parabolic motion, a Translational motion and a Wave-like motion). Hypotheses are that the wave-like motion will increase perceived intensities and arou- sal related to positive emotional faces (i.e., Happy and Surprised), and simplify their recognition. Otherwise, the parabolic motion is hypothesized to increase perceived intensities and arousal related to negative emotional faces (i.e., Angry, Disgusted, Fearful and Sad), while enhancing their recognition. Results sho- wed that “Happy” is the most recognized face and “Fearful” is the least recognized one. Concerning Perceived Intensity, an Emotional Face main effect and an Interaction Motion Pattern × Emotional Face were obtained. Finally, the Arousal dimension yielded two main effects, one for the Emotional Face and one for the Motion Pattern. On one hand, results we found are very promising in understanding the part played by motion in Arousal. On the other hand, further research still has to be done so as to question the exact effects of the Translational, Parabolic and Wave-like motion patterns, especially in more dynamic contexts.

Keywords

Emotional Face; Motion Pattern; Self-Reports; KDEF

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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