David Neal - Facial feedback and the mind-body link

Facial expressions provide more than just a passive window into the mind; they can also shape psychological states through feedback mechanisms that remain only partially understood.  This talk presents new data on two ways that facial feedback signals inform higher-order psychological processes.  Experiments 1 and 2 show that people use feedback from their own face when trying to understand the expressions displayed on others’ faces. Accordingly, when feedback signals were dampened (Experiment 1), people became less accurate at judging the facial expressions of others. In contrast, when feedback signals were amplified (Experiment 2) they became better judges. Experiments 3  and 4 shift the focus to consider the impact of facial feedback on people's level of motivational engagement. Building on basic theories of approach and avoidance motivation, we predicted that people would feel more motivationally engaged, and thus do better, when their facial feedback signals were motivationally compatible with the task they were performing (e.g., making approach expressions during approach-related tasks). Overall, these studies reinforce an embodied view of cognition and suggest that facial expressions do not simply mirror our inner states, but also play a role in actively constructing those states.