Facial expression of emotion: A comparison of posed expressions versus spontaneous expressions in an interpersonal communication setting

Many assumptions about the operation of nonverbal behaviors in interpersonal communication have been based upon studies which have not focused on interpersonal communication settings. Especially, most studies of facial expression have examined posed rather than spontaneous expressions, and the relatively few studies of spontaneous expressions have employed stimuli and/or settings of dubious relevance to everyday communication. The present study compares the identifiability of posed vs. spontaneous facial expressions of emotion elicited during ostensibly natural conversation. While posed expressions, as in earlier studies, were quite unambiguous, spontaneous expressions of emotion were found to be remarkably difficult to identify. Implications are discussed for the generalizability of certain nonverbal research results to interpersonal communication settings, for related methodological considerations, for revised conceptualizations of the function of facial expression, and for the more general issue of communicative intention.

Notes

The authors wish to acknowledge assistance via Faculty Research Grant D‐1733 from the senior author's institution, as well as the assistance of S. Boyd, C. Reed, C. Reuter, and R. Richards, students at the senior author's institution who served as confederates in the study.