The Effect of Facial Expressions on Memory of Facial Features Jessica L. Sudlow and M. Martha Ullman
Background Rashmi and Srinivasan (2009) Emotional faces vs. neutral faces Holistic face views and short term memory D’Argembeau and Van der Linden (2011) Emotions and information processing Tsukiura and Cabeza (2008) Happy facial expressions and accurate recollection Frowd, Skelton, Atherton, Pitchford, Hepton, Holden, McIntyre, Hancock, and Peter (2012) Accuracy of recall and picture size
Demographics Total Participants: 66 Males: 15 Females: 51 Class Ranks Freshmen: 25 Sophomores: 15 Juniors: 18 Seniors: 8 Age: 17 – 24, ( M = 19.3, SD = 1.48)
Method Deceptive title “The Effect of Facial Expressions on Math Ability” Participants assigned to one of three groups neutral facial expression smile showing no teeth smile showing teeth Picture of face shown for 20 s
Please study the picture.
Method(cont.) Distractor task for 60 s Completed Likert scale survey with statements about facial features Measured memory of photograph
Please complete the following math problems. You have 60 seconds to complete as many as you can = _____ = _____ = _____ = _____17 – 4 = _____18 – 11 = _____ 3 x 7= ______4 x 6 = _____ 8 x 5 = _____ 27 ÷ 3 = _____25 ÷ 5 = _____42 ÷ 7 = ______ = ______9 + 4 = ______ = _____
1. The person in the photograph had brown eyes. Strongly Disagree Neutral Strongly Agree The person in the photograph had moles. Strongly Disagree Neutral Strongly Agree The person in the photograph had dimples on her cheeks. Strongly Disagree Neutral Strongly Agree The person in the photograph was wearing glasses. Strongly Disagree Neutral Strongly Agree The person in the photograph had blonde hair. Strongly Disagree Neutral Strongly Agree The person in the photograph was smiling. Strongly Disagree Neutral Strongly Agree
Results * F (2, 63) = 5.43, p =.007
Results F (2, 63) = , p <.001.
Results t (64) = -2.11, p =.039
Results t (64) = 2.52, p =.014
Discussion Sex differences Quality of photograph used Teeth showing may have been distraction Limitation: distractor task Only one accurate observation
References D’Argembeau, A., & Van der Linden, M. (2011). Influence of facial expression on memory for facial identity: Effects of visual features or emotional meaning? Emotion, 11 (1), doi: /a Frowd, C. D., Skelton, F., Atherton, C., Pitchford, M., Hepton, G., Holden, L., McIntyre, A. H., Hancock, & Peter J. B. (2012). Recovering faces from memory: The distracting influence of external facial features. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 18 (2), doi: /a Rashmi, G., & Srinivasan, N. (2009). Emotions help memory for faces: Role of whole and parts. Cognition and Emotion, 23 (4), doi: / Tsukiura, T. & Cabeza, R. (2008). Orbitofrontal and hippocampal contributions to memory for face-name associations: The rewarding power of a smile. Neuropsychologia, 46 (9), doi: /j.neuropsychologia
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