Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Emotional expressions give rise to inferences about a person's trustworthiness (Todorov Oosterhof, 2008). In this study I propose that such inferences are magnified or reduced depending on the observed individuals' facial structures that cue babyface and matureface features. The results showed that for male targets with babyface features, happy expressions led to greater trust inferences relative to a neutral expression condition, but angry expressions did not change trust inferences relative to the neutral condition. In contrast, for male targets with matureface features, anger expressions led to decreased trust inferences relative to a neutral expression condition, while happy expressions did not change trust inferences relative to the neutral condition. Thus, the current study revealed that the combination of emotional expressions and facial features most strongly elucidates trust inferences in male targets. More broadly, this research suggests factors that signal dependence or dominance may influence how emotional expressions are interpreted.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Behzad Asyabi-Eshghi
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2729400318