Sex-dependent effects of threatening emotion on perceived gaze direction

ABSTRACT

Facial expressions can influence the perception of gaze direction. However, whether the sexes modulate the interaction between emotion and gaze direction remains a controversial topic. Here, we used a gaze direction judgment task and measured the cone of direct gaze (CoDG) as an index of perceived being looked at himself/herself. The results showed that participants’ sex modulated the role of emotion in gaze direction. Regarding males , the CoDG for angry faces was significantly wider than that for neutral and fearful faces, and a marginally significant difference was found in the CoDGs between fearful and neutral faces. Concerning females, the CoDG for angry and fearful faces was significantly wider than that for neutral faces, with no significant difference between fearful and angry faces. These findingssuggest that individual sex is a vital factor in modulating the interaction between gaze direction and facial expression.

KEYWORDS:

• Gaze direction
• anger
• fear
• the cone of direct gaze (CoDG)
• sex difference

Acknowledgements

We thank Yahuan Shi, Hewei Cui, and Jinmeng Liu for assistance with data collection of this study.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Social Science Fund of China [grant number BBA210032].