Recognition of dynamic facial expressions in peripheral and central vision

The present study investigated the effects of dynamic information on the recognition of emotional facial expressions across the visual field (i.e., central or peripheral vision). Facial stimuli with three pleasant expressions (excited, happy, and relaxed) and three unpleasant expressions (fearful, angry, and sad) were selected on the basis of valence and activation. The facial stimuli were presented dynamically or statically at either the central or peripheral visual field. Participants evaluated the emotional state of the target facial expression using a forced-choice task (N=34) and an Affect Grid (Russell, Weiss, & Mendelsohn, 1989) (N =39) requiring categorical and dimensional judgments about facial expressions. The results of the forced-choice task showed that only dynamic angry faces in peripheral vision had better recognition than the equivalent faces in the static condition. The results of the Affect Grid indicated that only the pleasant expressions presented in the peripheral field were significantly rated as more strongly pleasant. These findings suggest that an effect of dynamic information is more salient in peripheral vision than in central vision for recognizing certain facial expressions.