Running head: FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 1. Influence of facial expression and skin color on approachability judgment

Transcription

1 Running head: FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 1 Influence of facial expression and skin color on approachability judgment Federico Leguizamo Barroso California State University Northridge In partial fulfillment of the requirements for Psychology 321/321L Dr. Sheila Grant December 1, 2011

2 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 2 Abstract Human facial expression is an important social feature that provides a substantial amount of information regarding socialization. Previous research shows that skin color influences people's judgments before and during social encounters. This research aims to assess the relationship between approachability and facial expressions displayed by dark and light skinned models. We hypothesized that happy facial expressions would be perceived as more approachable than neutral and angry expressions, and that dark skinned faces would be perceived as less approachable than light skinned ones. Participants (N=34) in this experiment rated the approachability of 48 faces presented as photographs in a Likert-type scale. Every image displayed one of the three types of facial expressions (happy, neutral, and angry) and the color of the actors' skin (either dark or light skin). Results confirmed the initial hypotheses. Keywords: facial expression, approachability, skin color

3 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 3 Introduction Identifying facial expressions is socially so important that humans had developed complex neural systems with the aim of decoding the information that facial expressions of the people around us show (Rolls, 2000). Palermo and Coltheart (2004) provided a list of seven different expressions (happiness, angriness, fear, disgust, sadness, surprise, and none) and displayed photographs of faces showing some of the listed basic human emotions to participants. They concluded that emotions are recognized from facial expressions, and that happiness was the most accurately recognized expression among all the facial expressions. But the problem with this system of recognition is that the information a person receives could be interpreted in many different ways, and a person s own perception of the current situation determines the actual meaning he or she attributes to certain stimuli. Four Caucasian police officers shot to an unarmed West African immigrant, Amadou Diallo, in Newspapers said that Mr. Diallo was hit by 19 of 41 bullets the officers shot at the front of his apartment building. The plain-clothed cops misidentified Diallo's wallet as a gun when he pulled it out to show his identification. Further research confirmed that it is possible to misidentify some neutral objects with threatening ones when an African-American expression is shown before the target object (Cothran, 2010). It has been shown that dark color skin is easily related with negativity, hostility and threat (Allport, 1954; Glick & Fiske, 1999), and this fact has been linked with the concept of approachability. If the majority of the population perceives dark skinned people as a threat, people will find dark colored skin stimuli less approachable and, hence, more avoidable. Miles (2009) conducted and experiment where a social encounter was simulated and the position of the participants was tracked. In this case, approachability was measured as the degree

4 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 4 of increasing/decreasing distance. Participants decreased their distance in social encounters where the presented stimulus was expressing an enjoyment smile. On the contrary, participants increased their distance towards non-enjoyment smiles. Following the line of research on approachability, Willis, Palermo & Burke (2011) examined how body and facial expressions influence judgments of approachability. Researchers simulated a task where participants were lost and needed to ask for directions to a stranger. The participants had to rate in a 5-point Likert scale how likely they would approach to the stimuli presented: two blocks comprehended by isolated face and body expressions of anger, happiness, and neutral. Angry stimulus (face and body expressions) were significantly judged as less approachable than happy and neutral expressions. Also, facial expressions exert a larger effect on an identity s approachability. However, the presence of threat (angry body) reduces the approachability effect of facial expressions. The participants were more likely to misidentify body expressions when incongruent facial expressions were presented, which means that facial expressions interfered with the accurate categorization of body expressions. Therefore, in relation with angry expressions, it can be asserted that stimuli faces and body expressions showing threat are significantly judged as less approachable than happy and neutral expressions (Willis, Palermo & Burke, 2011). Stepanova & Strube (2009) examined the influence of the skin tone of African-American and European-American faces in racial categorizations and judgments. In accordance with the researchers predictions, African American faces were identified with dark skin and high Afrocentric physiognomy. Hence, light skin pictures were categorized by the participants as European-American. One of the most important contributions of Stepanova s (2009) work is the demonstration that the effects in racial categorization are increased by both physiognomy and

5 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 5 skin color features. Based on this finding we concluded that, for this experiment, skin color categorization would be a better label for our independent variable than ethnicity. Here we present a study that aimed to determine whether non-verbal cues, namely facial expressions and skin color, influence the degree of approachability towards social interaction. Selecting racial features and facial expressions stimuli, we expect to clarify more aspects about racial stereotypes. We expected to find significant differences in approachability among the different levels of facial expressions. Ratings for happy facial expressions were expected to be higher than for neutral and angry expressions. Also, ratings for approachability of angry facial expressions were expected to be the lowest. In terms of skin tone, approachability ratings for dark skinned pictures were expected to be lower than light skinned ones, regardless the facial expression. Method Participants The sample consisted initially of 40 freshman and sophomore undergraduate students, but data for six participants were lost for technical reasons (N=34). Participants were psychology lower division students. They were recruited through their mandatory participation course at an urban culturally diverse university in Southern California. The sample characteristics follow: years old (M=19.29, SD=1.78); 22 women (65%) and 12 men (35%); n=16 (47%) Hispanic, n=6 (18%) White, n=5 (15%) Black, n=4 (12%) Asian, and n=3 (9%) Others. Design A 2x3 repeated measures design conducted with only one condition for every participant. The independent variables were facial expression, with Happy, Neutral, and Angry levels, and color of the skin, with Dark Skin and Light Skin levels. The dependent variable was the

6 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 6 approachability judgment participants give, measured with a Likert-type scale (interval, from 1 to 5 points). Data was analyzed with a within-subject ANOVA in SPSS. Measures and Materials In order to conduct this experiment, participants were gathered in a well-lighted classroom. We split the number of participants in two different experimental sessions, the first one at 9 am and the second one at 9:15. A PowerPoint slides with the instructions and the 48 slides with the stimuli faces were used (see Appendix). The PowerPoint slides were run on a Macintosh Snow Leopard OS X Apple Computer with Microsoft Office. The image of the slides was projected in the main screen of the room where everybody was able to see it properly. The stimuli consisted of a total of 48 2D color pictures in a plane PowerPoint slide with a black background. The response sheet was a Likert-type scale used to measure approachability on a scale from 1 to 5 points, where 1 meant not at all approachable and 5 meant very approachable. The demographics sheet was included in the first page of the response sheet. We asked for gender, age, and ethnicity (see Appendix). The order of the slides was not randomized. Procedure Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two different days to take the experiment. Even if there was only one condition for all the participants, they were split in two groups, though they watched the same PowerPoint. Participants were seated in front of the main screen, where everyone could see it without interruptions. After one of the researchers read the instructions and all the questions were answered, participants filled out the demographics sheet and the experiment started. Participants had 10 seconds per slide to fill the Likert scale in the response sheet. Four researchers were supervising the participants all the time the experiment

7 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 7 was being conducted. When the experiment finished, the entire group of participants was debriefed and thanked for collaborating. Results Our aim to test the effects of happy, angry, and neutral facial expression levels on average approachability ratings guided data analyses. Thus, a within-subjects ANOVA was used to analyze our data. The analysis showed that there was a significant main effect of the facial expressions on the approachability ratings made by participants (F [2, 32] = 57.97, p <.001). Figure 1 shows the effect of facial expression on the approachability level on average by participants. Pairwise comparison analyses indicated that the approachability of happy facial expression (M = 3.86, SD =.13) was significantly higher (p <.001) than neutral (M = 2.58, SD =.09) and angry (M = 1.93, SD =.09). Also, neutral expression (M = 2.58, SD =.09) was significantly higher (p <.001) than angry (M = 1.93, SD =.09). All significance levels were adjusted for multiple comparisons using the Bonferroni procedure. Next, a within-subjects ANOVA was used to analyze whether there were significant differences between light and dark skin on approachability. The analysis (Figure 2) showed that there was a significant main effect of the color of the skin on the approachability ratings made by participants (F [1, 33] = 12.24, p <.001). Specifically, light skin color (M = 2.89, SD =.38) was perceived as significantly more approachable than dark skin color (M = 2.69, SD =.49). Finally, the six groups were compared to each other using a within-subject ANOVA (Figure 3). The analysis showed that the approachability ratings (F [5, 29] = 33.95, p <.001) were significantly higher for happy-light images (M = 3.88, SD =.72) than for the rest of the groups. Happy-dark images were significantly higher rated (M = 3.84, SD =.85) than neutral and angry faces. Neutral-light faces were significantly higher rated (M = 2.78, SD =.38) than neutral-

8 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 8 dark (M = 2.38, SD =.76) and angry faces. Lastly, angry-light faces (M = 2.00, SD =.50) were significantly rated higher in approachability than angry-dark faces (M = 1.86, SD =.77). Pairwise comparison analyses indicated that the approachability of happy-light images (M = 3.88, SD =.72) was significantly higher (p <.001) than neutral-light (M = 2.78, SD =.38), neutral-dark (M = 2.38, SD =.76), angry-light (M = 2.00, SD =.50) and angry-dark faces (M = 1.86, SD =.77). Happy-dark images (M = 3.84, SD =.85) were significantly higher (p <.001) rated in approachability than neutral-light (M = 2.78, SD =.38), neutral-dark (M = 2.38, SD =.76), angry-light (M = 2.00, SD =.50) and angry-dark faces (M = 1.86, SD =.77), but lower than happy-light faces. Neutral-light (M = 2.78, SD =.38) faces were significantly higher in approachability than neutral-dark (M = 2.38, SD =.76), angry-light (M = 2.00, SD =.50) and angry-dark faces (M = 1.86, SD =.77), but lower than happy-light and happy-dark faces. Neutral-dark faces (M = 2.38, SD =.76) were significantly higher in approachability than angrylight (M = 2.00, SD =.50) and angry-dark faces (M = 1.86, SD =.77), but lower than happylight, happy-dark faces, and neutral-light. Finally, angry-light faces (M = 2.00, SD =.50) were higher in approachability than angry-dark faces (M = 1.86, SD =.77), but lower than happy-light, happy-dark faces, neutral-light, and neutral dark. Item Angry-Dark #3 was dropped to increase reliability from.62 to.69. All significance levels were adjusted for multiple comparisons using the Bonferroni procedure. Discussion According to the results, substantial differences can be appreciated in approachability ratings among the variables studied. Regarding facial expressions, happy expressions were significantly rated as more approachable than neutral and angry expressions. As expected, angry facial expressions were found as less approachable than the other two conditions. In terms of

9 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 9 skin color, light skinned faces were significantly rated as more approachable than dark skinned faces. Interaction analysis shows that the happy light skinned facial expressions were the most approachable and, on the other hand, angry dark skinned facial expressions were the less rated. An interesting aspect of the results is that neutral facial expression, both light and dark color skin, are the only type of facial expression condition where significant differences were found between skin color levels. Therefore, we can assume that the color of the skin had a relevant influence on the approachability ratings given by this sample. A main limitation of this research is the size of the sample and the PowerPoint presented to the sample. The sample size was initially N=40, which could be considered as an acceptable number of participants in order to gain on external validity. Technical problems interfered with the proportion of the pictures set. Also, there was no random assignment of the slides between the different sessions of the experiment. Thus, experiment s conditions were not counterbalanced. In previous research, Kanade, Cohn & Tian (2000) concluded some of the weaknesses and strengths of these facial expression analyses. They demonstrated that spontaneous expressions are essential to explain differences in judgment perception (i.e. approachability). The researchers support the idea that a larger and well-tested database increases generalizability compared to the databases more frequently used by psychologists and other professionals from the facial expression research field. Even though all the previous hypotheses were confirmed, conclusions of current research cannot be extrapolated to population. Further replications of this experiment should fix the sample issues and the proportion of the PowerPoint slides, including equal number of dark and light skinned pictures and a counterbalanced order of the slides.

10 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 10 References Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Cothran, D. (2010). Facial affect and race influence threat perception. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 30, doi: /ic Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1999). Sexism and other isms : Independence, status, and the ambivalent content of stereotypes. In W. B. Swann (Ed.), Sexism and stereo-types in modern society: The gender science of Janet Taylor Spence (pp ). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Kanade, T., Cohn, J., Tian, Y. (2000). Comprehensive database for facial expression analysis. Proceedings of the fourth IEEE international conference on automatic face and gesture recognition, pp , Grenoble, France. Miles, L. K. (2009). Who is approachable?. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, doi: /j.jesp Palermo, R., & Coltheart, M. (2004). Photographs of facial expression: Accuracy, response times, and ratings of intensity. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments & Computers, 36, Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Rolls, E. T. (2000). Précis of the brain and emotion. Behavioral & Brain Sciences, 23, Stepanova, E. V., & Strube, M. J. (2009). Making of a face: Role of facial physiognomy, skin tone, and color presentation mode in evaluations of racial typicality. The Journal Of Social Psychology, 149, doi: /socp

11 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 11 Willis, M. L., Palermo, R., & Burke, D. (2011). Judging approachability on the face of it: The influence of face and body expressions on the perception of approachability. Emotion, 11(3), doi: /a

12 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 12 Appendix Approachability and Facial Expressions 4,5 4 3,5 3 2,5 2 1,5 1 0,5 0 Happy Neutral Angry Approachability Figure 1 Approachability and Skin Color 2,95 2,9 2,85 2,8 2,75 2,7 2,65 2,6 2,55 Dark Light Approachability Figure 2

13 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY Approachability Interac>on 2 1 Approachability 0 Figure 3

14 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 14 The 48 photographs used from the Gur/Kohler PERT96 database

15 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 15

16 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 16 Photograph's Gender Man Woman 50% 50% Fotographs' Facial Expressions Happy Angry Neutral 33% 34% 33% Dark Skin 27% Fotographs' Skin Color Light Skin 73%

17 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 17 Debriefing Sheet This study was designed to see if race has an effect on the rating of approachability of facial expressions (Happy, Neutral, and Angry). Previous research by Campbell concluded that Caucasians were perceived as more approachable than African-Americans. Although some facial expressions are universally perceived, racial difference may have a great impact on our perception and judgments based on a person s non verbal cues. How was this tested? In this particular experiment, you were shown 48 pictures of dark and light skin faces, both men and women. Three different possible facial expressions were associated with each face (Happy, Neutral and Angry). All participants were given the same task for a total of 10 minutes, 10 seconds for each face. After each picture, you were asked to rate the approachability of the face on a scale of 1-5 (1 being the least approachable and 5 being most approachable) on a piece of paper numbered from 1 to 48. Hypothesis and main questions: Our predictions are that there will be significant differences in approachability among the facial expressions. Happy facial expressions will be rated higher in approachability than Neutral facial expressions. Also, Neutral facial expressions will be rated higher in approachability than the Angry ones. Our second prediction is that the participants will rate dark skin pictures lower on approachability than light skin pictures, in all the possible types of facial expressions. Why is this research significant? People perception and judgment of others may be affected by their non-verbal cues, such as their facial expressions and how facial expressions are perceived may also be affected by their skin color. By studying this correlation, we may begin to answer some questions about racially related stereotypes. If you want to know more about this current research Thank you for participating in this experiment. If you like to know more about this experiment or the final results of the outcome, please add your address in the response sheet. Please do not disclose research procedures and hypotheses to anyone who might participate in this study between now and the end of the data collection. The results could be affected if disclosure takes place. Campbell, D. W., Neuert, T., Friesen, K. B., & McKeen, N. A. (2010). Assessing social approachability: Individual differences, in-group biases, and experimental control. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 42, doi: /a

18 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND SKIN COLOR ON APPROACHABILITY 18 Acknowledgements We thank Dr. Ruben Gur and Zachary Radcliff for contributing to this research project with the Gur/Kohler PERT96. Without their database and help this experiment would not be possible. The Gur/Kohler images are 96 color images of male and female actors making mild and extreme happy, sad, fearful, angry and disgusted facial expressions, as well as neutral facial expressions. They were used in the Penn Emotion Recognition Test - 96 Faces version (PERT96).