Perceived Gaze Direction and the Processing of Facial Displays of Emotion

Abstract

There is good reason to believe that gaze direction and facial displays of emotion share an information value as signals of approach or avoidance. The combination of these cues in the analysis of social communication, however, has been a virtually neglected area of inquiry. Two studies were conducted to test the prediction that direct gaze would facilitate the processing of facially communicated approach-oriented emotions (e.g., anger and joy), whereas averted gaze would facilitate the processing of facially communicated avoidance-oriented emotions (e.g., fear and sadness). The results of both studies confirmed the central hypothesis and suggest that gaze direction and facial expression are combined in the processing of emotionally relevant facial information.

Evidence for adaptive design in human gaze preference

“…While previous studies have shown that gaze direction influences both the perceived intensity of facial expressions (Adams & Kleck 2003;Conway et al 2007) and the reward value of attractive faces (Kampe et al 2001;Jones et al 2006), the effects of gaze direction in these studies were equivalent for judgements of own-sex and opposite-sex faces. Indeed, we know of no studies that have tested whether the strength of preference for direct gaze is modulated not only by the sex of the face judged (opposite-sex versus own-sex) but also by cues to the target individual's emotional state/intentions (unreceptive versus proceptive).…”

“…Interpreting others' intentions from facial cues may, therefore, require integrating information about the direction of their social attention and their emotional state/intentions (Adams & Kleck 2003;Clark 2005;Jones et al 2006Jones et al , 2007Mishra et al 2007). Indeed, Clark (2005) found that both men and women preferred video clips of proceptive (i.e.…”

“…Additionally, since Mason et al (2005) tested only preferences for direct gaze in women's faces, it is unclear whether both men and women demonstrate opposite-sex biases in attraction to direct gaze or if the opposite-sex bias in gaze preference is significantly stronger in men and/or potentially absent in women. Since gaze direction signals the direction of others' social attention (Adams & Kleck 2003;Mason et al 2005;Jones et al 2006), an opposite-sex bias in the strength of preferences for direct gaze may function to facilitate efficient allocation of mating effort. Mating effort is a finite resource that should be allocated judiciously (Low 2000) and preferences for direct gaze in opposite-sex faces would increase the likelihood of allocating mating effort to potential mates who are most likely to reciprocate (i.e.…”

Facial expressions of emotion influence memory for facial identity in an automatic way.

“…Furthermore, gaze direction seems to modulate the processing of facial expression (Wicker, Perrett, Baron-Cohen, & Decety, 2003). In particular, it has been found that direct gaze enhances the processing of facially communicated approach-oriented emotions (such as anger and joy), whereas averted gaze enhances the processing of facially communicated avoidance-oriented emotions (such as fear and sadness; Adams & Kleck, 2003, 2005. Consequently, the influence of happy and angry expressions might be more pronounced when these expressions are directed towards the observer rather than averted.…”

“…In Experiment 2, we aimed at investigating whether this influence differs as a function of whether or not facial expression is explicitly assessed. In addition, considering possible interactions between the processing of facial expression and direction of gaze (Adams & Kleck, 2003, 2005, another goal of our second experiment was to explore whether the influence of expressions on identity memory is modulated by the direction of facial display.…”