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Comparing Reinforcement Values of Facial Expressions: An Eye-Tracking Study

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Abstract

Reinforcement values of facial expressions for visual fixation remain underdeveloped in extant literature, though numerous studies have investigated the function of facial expressions as antecedents of gaze behavior. This study used a concurrent gaze-contingent reinforcement procedure to compare reinforcement values of positive and negative facial expressions for gaze fixation. In total, 7 of the 20 typical adults fixated more frequently on the side that was followed by positive facial expressions. The results suggest that a novel application of eye tracking technology could allow for the evaluation and comparison of reinforcement values of social visual stimuli.

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Funding

This study was funded by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas No. 18H04182 “Construction of the Face-Body Studies in Transcultural Conditions” to S. M., and the CREST research project on Social Imaging (JPMJCR14E2), Japan Science and Technology Agency to J. Y.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, 305-8573, Japan

    Soichiro Matsuda

  2. Department of Psychology, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan

    Takahide Omori & Junichi Yamamoto

  3. Department of Psychology and Kinney Cefignter for Autism Education and Support, Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Joseph P. McCleery

  4. Center for Autism Research, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Joseph P. McCleery

Authors
  1. Soichiro Matsuda
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  2. Takahide Omori
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  3. Joseph P. McCleery
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  4. Junichi Yamamoto
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Correspondence to Soichiro Matsuda.

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Table 3 Mean (SD) number of reinforcements obtained for each model
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Matsuda, S., Omori, T., McCleery, J.P. et al. Comparing Reinforcement Values of Facial Expressions: An Eye-Tracking Study. Psychol Rec 69, 393–400 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-019-00330-z

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