The aim of the study was to investigate how the biological binding between different facial dimensions, and their social and communicative relevance, may impact updating processes in working memory (WM). We focused on WM updating because it plays a key role in ongoing processing. Gaze direction and facial expression are crucial and changeable components of face processing. Direct gaze enhances the processing of approach-oriented facial emotional expressions (e.g., joy), while averted gaze enhances the processing of avoidance-oriented facial emotional expressions (e.g., fear). Thus, the way in which these two facial dimensions are combined communicates to the observer important behavioral and social information. Updating of these two facial dimensions and their bindings has not been investigated before, despite the fact that they provide a piece of social information essential for building and maintaining an internal ongoing representation of our social environment. In Experiment 1 we created a task in which the binding between gaze direction and facial expression was manipulated: high binding conditions (e.g., joy-direct gaze) were compared to low binding conditions (e.g., joy-averted gaze). Participants had to study and update continuously a number of faces, displaying different bindings between the two dimensions. In Experiment 2 we tested whether updating was affected by the social and communicative value of the facial dimension binding; to this end, we manipulated bindings between eye and hair color, two less communicative facial dimensions.Two new results emerged. First, faster response times were found in updating combinations of facial dimensions highly bound together. Second, our data showed that the ease of the ongoing updating processing varied depending on the communicative meaning of the binding that had to be updated.The results are discussed with reference to the role of WM updating in social cognition and appraisal processes. © 2012 Artuso, Palladino and Ricciardelli.

Artuso, C., Palladino, P., Ricciardelli, P. (2012). How do we update faces? Effects of gaze direction and facial expressions on working memory updating. FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY, 3(9) [10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00362].

How do we update faces? Effects of gaze direction and facial expressions on working memory updating

RICCIARDELLI, PAOLA
2012

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate how the biological binding between different facial dimensions, and their social and communicative relevance, may impact updating processes in working memory (WM). We focused on WM updating because it plays a key role in ongoing processing. Gaze direction and facial expression are crucial and changeable components of face processing. Direct gaze enhances the processing of approach-oriented facial emotional expressions (e.g., joy), while averted gaze enhances the processing of avoidance-oriented facial emotional expressions (e.g., fear). Thus, the way in which these two facial dimensions are combined communicates to the observer important behavioral and social information. Updating of these two facial dimensions and their bindings has not been investigated before, despite the fact that they provide a piece of social information essential for building and maintaining an internal ongoing representation of our social environment. In Experiment 1 we created a task in which the binding between gaze direction and facial expression was manipulated: high binding conditions (e.g., joy-direct gaze) were compared to low binding conditions (e.g., joy-averted gaze). Participants had to study and update continuously a number of faces, displaying different bindings between the two dimensions. In Experiment 2 we tested whether updating was affected by the social and communicative value of the facial dimension binding; to this end, we manipulated bindings between eye and hair color, two less communicative facial dimensions.Two new results emerged. First, faster response times were found in updating combinations of facial dimensions highly bound together. Second, our data showed that the ease of the ongoing updating processing varied depending on the communicative meaning of the binding that had to be updated.The results are discussed with reference to the role of WM updating in social cognition and appraisal processes. © 2012 Artuso, Palladino and Ricciardelli.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
biological binding, social cognition, appraisal, gaze direction, facialexpression, facial dimensions, working memory
English
27-set-2012
2012
3
9
362
open
Artuso, C., Palladino, P., Ricciardelli, P. (2012). How do we update faces? Effects of gaze direction and facial expressions on working memory updating. FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY, 3(9) [10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00362].
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Artusoetal2012.pdf

accesso aperto

Dimensione 553.88 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
553.88 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/37013
Citazioni
  • Scopus 18
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 20
Social impact