Identifying individuals’ intent through the emotional valence conveyed by their facial expression influences our capacity to approach-avoid these individuals during social interactions. Here, we explore if and how the emotional valence of others’ facial expressiveness modulates peripersonal-action and interpersonal-social spaces. Through Immersive Virtual Reality, participants determined reachability-distance (for peripersonal space) and comfort-distance (for interpersonal space) from male/female virtual confederates exhibiting happy, angry and neutral facial expressions while being approached by (passive-approach) or walking toward (active-approach) them. Results showed an increase of distance when seeing angry rather than happy confederates in both approach conditions of comfort-distance. The effect also appeared in reachability-distance, but only in the passive-approach. Anger prompts avoidant behaviors, and thus an expansion of distance, particularly with a potential violation of near body space by an intruder. Overall, the findings suggest that peripersonal-action space, in comparison with interpersonal-social space, is similarly sensitive to the emotional valence of stimuli. We propose that this similarity could reflect a common adaptive mechanism shared by these spaces, presumably at different degrees, for ensuring self-protection functions.

Ruggiero, G., Frassinetti, F., Coello, Y., Rapuano, M., Di Cola, A.S., Iachini, T. (2016). The effect of facial expressions on peripersonal and interpersonal spaces. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 80 (6), 1-9 [10.1007/s00426-016-0806-x].

The effect of facial expressions on peripersonal and interpersonal spaces

FRASSINETTI, FRANCESCA;
2016

Abstract

Identifying individuals’ intent through the emotional valence conveyed by their facial expression influences our capacity to approach-avoid these individuals during social interactions. Here, we explore if and how the emotional valence of others’ facial expressiveness modulates peripersonal-action and interpersonal-social spaces. Through Immersive Virtual Reality, participants determined reachability-distance (for peripersonal space) and comfort-distance (for interpersonal space) from male/female virtual confederates exhibiting happy, angry and neutral facial expressions while being approached by (passive-approach) or walking toward (active-approach) them. Results showed an increase of distance when seeing angry rather than happy confederates in both approach conditions of comfort-distance. The effect also appeared in reachability-distance, but only in the passive-approach. Anger prompts avoidant behaviors, and thus an expansion of distance, particularly with a potential violation of near body space by an intruder. Overall, the findings suggest that peripersonal-action space, in comparison with interpersonal-social space, is similarly sensitive to the emotional valence of stimuli. We propose that this similarity could reflect a common adaptive mechanism shared by these spaces, presumably at different degrees, for ensuring self-protection functions.
2016
Ruggiero, G., Frassinetti, F., Coello, Y., Rapuano, M., Di Cola, A.S., Iachini, T. (2016). The effect of facial expressions on peripersonal and interpersonal spaces. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 80 (6), 1-9 [10.1007/s00426-016-0806-x].
Ruggiero, Gennaro; Frassinetti, Francesca; Coello, Yann; Rapuano, Mariachiara; Di Cola, Armando Schiano; Iachini, Tina
File in questo prodotto:
Eventuali allegati, non sono esposti

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/585261
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo

Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 27
  • Scopus 127
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact