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The Social Amplification View of facial expression

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Abstract

I offer a novel view of the mechanisms underlying the spontaneous facial expression of emotion. According to my Social Amplification View (SAV), facial expressions result from the interplay of two processes: an emotional process that activates specific facial muscles, though not always to the point of visible contraction, followed by a social cognitive process that amplifies these activations so that they may function more effectively as social signals. I argue that SAV outperforms both the Neurocultural View and the Behavioral Ecology View, as well as previously proposed syntheses of these views, in accounting for various empirical findings.

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Notes

  1. Reviews of the studies supporting attribution agreement include Elfenbein and Ambady (2002) and Matsumoto et al. (2008). Critiques of these studies may be found in Russell (1994), Barrett (2006), Gendron et al. (2014), and Crivelli et al. (2016). Studies supporting the audience effect include Kraut and Johnston (1979), Fridlund (1991), Chovil (1991), Fernández-Dols and Ruiz-Belda (1997) and Parkinson (2005), among others. A critique may be found in Frank and Ekman (1993).

  2. The locus classicus of this view is Ekman (1972). Philosophical discussions of NCV include Green (2007) and Scarantino (2017).

  3. The locus classicus of this view is Fridlund (1994). Philosophical discussions of BEV include Green (2007) and Scarantino (2017).

  4. Other attempts to synthesize NCV and BEV may be found in Green (2007), Griffiths and Scarantino (2009) and Scarantino (2017). I discuss each in “Other proposals” section.

  5. Barrett (2006; 2017) and Russell (2009) hold that emotions are constructed out of several non-emotional processes, including whatever processes give rise to facial expressions. So their views may allow for facial expressions to be triggered by non-emotional social cognitive processes yet still, in a way, express emotions.

  6. There is ongoing disagreement, however, as to whether there are patterns of facial muscle activation corresponding to each of the basic emotions hypothesized by NCV, or whether there are only patterns of facial muscle activation corresponding to more basic affective states, such as positive, negative, and neutral states of affective arousal. It’s also possible that there are patterns of facial muscle activation corresponding to some, but not all of the basic emotions hypothesized by NCV. Time will tell which (if any) of these hypotheses is right. However, for the purposes of this paper I shall assume that there are patterns of facial muscle activation corresponding to each of the basic emotions hypothesized by NCV.

  7. To be more precise, a facial expression is a patterned contraction of muscles that observers could consistently match with emotion words when viewed in real time. Facial reflexes may not be easily recognizable for several reasons: the muscle activations may be too slight to be noticed, they may be too quick to be noticed, or they may be noticed but, for whatever reason, fail to be consistently categorized as the expression of a particular emotion. As I shall explain shortly, SAV holds that emotions trigger facial reflexes, and that a separate mechanism amplifies these reflexes in social settings so that they may serve as social signals. Facial expressions serve communicative functions; facial reflexes may serve other functions.

  8. I shall remain neutral on the question of whether amplifiers are distinct from what Maynard Smith and Harper (2004) term “indices”; see Stenseth and Saetre (2004) and Harper (2006).

  9. Panksepp (2006) provides an account of the neuroanatomical basis of what I’m calling “facial reflexes” (see “The Neurocultural View (NCV)” section). I have not provided an account of the neuroanatomical basis of the mechanism that amplifies facial reflexes. SAV would, ultimately, require such an account.

  10. Ekman and Friesen (1982) hypothesized that the so-called Duchenne smile is a reliable indicator of joy insofar as the orbicularis oculi muscles cannot be contracted at will. However, recent studies suggest that many people can contract these muscles at will (Gunnery et al. 2012), and thus that the facial expression of joy can be faked. I am working on the assumption that most facial expressions can be faked, but SAV in no way hangs on this assumption. SAV is consistent with the hypothesis that many facial expressions cannot be faked.

  11. To be clear, animal signals are incredibly varied, serving a wide range of social functions. Sociality does predict the occurrence of many animal signals. The research discussed here focused on a narrow range of signals that seem to be primarily expressive. The authors argue that these signals become louder in the presence of an audience, but still occur in quieter form when the animal is alone.

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  1. Department of Philosophy, University of Arkansas, 311 Old Main, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA

    Trip Glazer

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Glazer, T. The Social Amplification View of facial expression. Biol Philos 34, 33 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-019-9686-y

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