Decoding of profile versus full-face expressions of affect

Spontaneous facial expressions were elicited from 64 young adults who watched video segments intended to evoke either positive or negative affect. Subjects viewed the stimuli under conditions where they were alone and thought they were not under visual surveillance. Expressive responses to the emotionally evocative materials were video-taped simultaneously from three perspectives (full-face, a 90° right profile, and a 90° left profile). A subset of facial expressions from 14 males and 14 females was selected and shown to 24 male and 24 female decoders. Judges viewed the expressions in one of the three facial perspectives (full-face, right hemiface, or left hemiface) in either normal or mirror-reversed orientation. Judgments were made for intensity and affective quality of the expressions. Positive expressions were more accurately identified in full-face and in right hemiface views as compared to left hemiface views, while the left hemiface was associated with better accuracy than the right hemiface for negative expressions. Right-looking profiles were associated with higher intensity ratings for both positive and negative affect. Among right-looking profiles, right hemiface expressions were seen as more intense than left hemiface expressions for positive affect. This was also true for full-face views. Full-face views were perceived as more intense for positive affect when the right hemiface was presented to the perceiver's right. This was true for negative expressions when the left hemiface was in the same position.