Distinct facial expressions represent pain and pleasure across cultures

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dc.cclicenceCC-BYen
dc.contributor.authorChen, Chaonaen
dc.contributor.authorCrivelli, Carlosen
dc.contributor.authorGarrod, Oliver G. B.en
dc.contributor.authorSchyns, Philippe G.en
dc.contributor.authorFernández-Dols, José-Miguelen
dc.contributor.authorJack, Rachael E.en
dc.date.acceptance2018-09-04en
dc.date.accessioned2018-10-22T13:41:26Z
dc.date.available2018-10-22T13:41:26Z
dc.date.issued2018-10-08
dc.descriptionopen access articleen
dc.description.abstractReal-world studies show that the facial expressions produced during pain and orgasm—two different and intense affective experiences—are virtually indistinguishable. However, this finding is counterintuitive, because facial expressions are widely considered to be a powerful tool for social interaction. Consequently, debate continues as to whether the facial expressions of these extreme positive and negative affective states serve a communicative function. Here, we address this debate from a novel angle by modeling the mental representations of dynamic facial expressions of pain and orgasm in 40 observers in each of two cultures (Western, East Asian) using a data-driven method. Using a complementary approach of machine learning, an information-theoretic analysis, and a human perceptual discrimination task, we show that mental representations of pain and orgasm are physically and perceptually distinct in each culture. Cross-cultural comparisons also revealed that pain is represented by similar face movements across cultures, whereas orgasm showed distinct cultural accents. Together, our data show that mental representations of the facial expressions of pain and orgasm are distinct, which questions their nondiagnosticity and instead suggests they could be used for communicative purposes. Our results also highlight the potential role of cultural and perceptual factors in shaping the mental representation of these facial expressions. We discuss new research directions to further explore their relationship to the production of facial expressions.en
dc.exception.reasonThe output was published as gold open accessen
dc.funderEconomic and Social Research Council Granten
dc.funderBritish Academy Granten
dc.funderWellcome Trust Granten
dc.funderMultidisciplinary University Research Initiative/Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Granten
dc.funderChinese Scholarship Council Awarden
dc.funderSpanish Government Granten
dc.identifier.citationChen, C., Crivelli, C., Garrod, O. G. B., Schyns, P. G., Fernández-Dols, J. M., and Jack, R. E. (2018) Distinct facial expressions represent pain and pleasure across cultures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A., 115(43), pp. E10013-E10021.en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807862115
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2086/16777
dc.language.isoenen
dc.peerreviewedYesen
dc.projectidESRC ES/K001973/1en
dc.projectidSG113332en
dc.projectid107802/Z/15/Zen
dc.projectidEP/N019261/1en
dc.projectid201306270029en
dc.projectidPSI2017-88776-Pen
dc.publisherProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A.en
dc.researchinstituteInstitute for Psychological Scienceen
dc.subjectpainen
dc.subjectorgasmen
dc.subjectfacial expressionsen
dc.subjectcultureen
dc.subjectdata-driven methodsen
dc.titleDistinct facial expressions represent pain and pleasure across culturesen
dc.typeArticleen

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