Scientific publications
Read about the research that supports the FaceReader Ecosystem
Over the past 20+ years, our facial coding platform and its embedded technologies have been the subject as well as the preferred instrument for numerous accredited scientific studies. Below we present a comprehensive overview of the literature that has emerged from these studies, highlighting and validating the cutting-edge technology of FaceReader Online.
2014
96 citations
Dynamics of autonomic nervous system responses and facial expressions to odors
He, Boesveldt, de Graaf, de Wijk
This study investigates the temporal dynamics of autonomic nervous system responses and facial expressions elicited by olfactory stimuli. Participants were exposed to pleasant and unpleasant odors while their ANS responses and facial expressions were recorded. Results indicated that unpleasant odors triggered immediate ANS activation and facial expressions of disgust, whereas pleasant odors elicited more gradual ANS responses and facial expressions of pleasure. These findings suggest that the human body reacts more swiftly and intensely to negative olfactory stimuli, highlighting the adaptive significance of rapid detection and response to potentially harmful substances. The study provides insights into the interplay between olfactory perception, emotional processing, and physiological reactions.
2013
54 citations
Computerized facial analysis for understanding constricted/ blunted affect: initial feasibility, reliability, and validity data
Cohen, Morrison, Callaway
This study explores the feasibility, reliability, and validity of using computerized facial analysis to assess constricted or blunted affect in individuals. The authors employed automated facial expression recognition technology to analyze facial movements and expressions, aiming to provide objective measures of affective flattening. The results indicate that this method is both reliable and valid, suggesting its potential utility in clinical settings for evaluating affective disorders.
2013
60 citations
Facial affective reactions to bitter-tasting foods
Garcia-Burgos, Zamora
Differences in food consumption among individuals with varying body mass indexes have raised questions about why overweight individuals or those at risk of becoming overweight eat differently from thinner individuals. One explanation suggests that sensitivity to the affective properties of food, particularly palatability-driven consumption, significantly contributes to food intake and, consequently, body weight. Extending this approach to unpalatable tastes, this study examined the relationship between aversive reactions to bitter-tasting foods and BMI. It was hypothesized that individuals with a high BMI would exhibit more negative affective reactions to bitter stimuli, even after controlling for sensory perception differences. Given that hedonic reactions may influence consumption without conscious feelings of pleasure or displeasure, facial expressions were analyzed to provide more direct access to affective responses than subjective reports. Forty adults aged 18 to 46 years participated voluntarily. Participants were classified based on BMI into low BMI and high BMI groups. The mean BMI was 19.1 for the low BMI group and 25.2 for the high BMI group . Each subject tasted 5 mL of a grapefruit juice drink and a bitter chocolate drink. Subjects rated the drinks’ hedonic and incentive value, familiarity, and bitter intensity immediately after each stimulus presentation. The results indicated that high BMI participants exhibited more profound changes from baseline in neutral and disgust facial expressions in response to bitter stimuli compared with low BMI participants. No differences between groups were detected for subjective pleasantness and familiarity. This research is the first to examine how affective facial reactions to bitter food, apart from taste responsiveness, can predict differences in BMI.
2013
59 citations
Anger superiority effect: The importance of dynamic emotional facial expressions
Ceccarini & Caudek
A rapid response to a threatening face in a crowd is important for successful social interactions. Visual search tasks have been used to determine if there’s a processing advantage for detecting an angry face in a crowd compared to a happy face. The empirical findings supporting the “anger superiority effect” have been criticized due to possible low-level visual confounds and the limited ecological validity of the stimuli. Moreover, a “happiness superiority effect” is usually found with more realistic stimuli. In this study, the ASE was tested using dynamic images of realistic human faces with validated emotional expressions of similar intensities, after controlling for bottom-up visual saliency and image motion. In five experiments, strong evidence for an ASE was found when using dynamic displays of facial expressions, but not when the emotions were expressed by static face images.
2013
5 citations
Positive Affective Interactions: The Role of Repeated Exposure and Copresence
Shahid, Krahmer, Neerincx, Swerts
We describe and evaluate a new interface to induce positive emotions in users: a digital, interactive adaptive mirror. We study whether the induced affect is repeatable after a fixed interval (Study 1) and how copresence influences the emotion induction (Study 2). Results show that participants systematically feel more positive after an affective mirror session, that this effect is repeatable, and stronger when a friend is copresent.
2013
14 citations
The affective experience of normative-performance and outcome goal pursuit: Physiological, observed, and self-report indicators
Sideridis, Kaplan, Papadopoulos, Anastasiadis
This study examines the affective experiences associated with pursuing normative-performance and outcome goals, utilizing physiological, observational, and self-report measures. The findings indicate that individuals pursuing normative-performance goals exhibit higher levels of anxiety and physiological arousal compared to those pursuing outcome goals. Additionally, normative-performance goal pursuit is linked to more negative affective expressions and self-reported emotions. These results suggest that the type of goal pursued significantly influences affective experiences, with normative-performance goals potentially leading to more stressful and negative emotional states.