@misc{10481/61811,
year = {2019},
month = {9},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10481/61811},
abstract = {Facial expressions inform about other peoples’ emotion and motivation and thus are
central for social communication. However, the meaning of facial expressions may
change depending on what we have learned about the related consequences. For
instance, a smile might easily become threatening when displayed by a person who is
known to be dangerous. The present study examined the malleability of emotional facial
valence by means of social learning. To this end, facial expressions served as cues for
verbally instructed threat-of-shock or safety (e.g., “happy faces cue shocks”). Moreover,
reversal instructions tested the flexibility of threat/safety associations (e.g., “now
happy faces cue safety”). Throughout the experiment, happy, neutral, and angry facial
expressions were presented and auditory startle probes elicited defensive reflex activity.
Results show that self-reported ratings and physiological reactions to threat/safety cues
dissociate. Regarding threat and valence ratings, happy facial expressions tended to be
more resistant becoming a threat cue, and angry faces remain threatening even when
instructed as safety cue. For physiological response systems, however, we observed
threat-potentiated startle reflex and enhanced skin conductance responses for threat
compared to safety cues regardless of whether threat was cued by happy or angry
faces. Thus, the incongruity of visual and verbal threat/safety information modulates
conscious perception, but not the activation of physiological response systems. These
results show that verbal instructions can readily overwrite the intrinsic meaning of facial
emotions, with clear benefits for social communication as learning and anticipation of
threat and safety readjusted to accurately track environmental changes.},
organization = {This research was supported by the German Research Foundation
(DFG) grant to FB (BU 3255/1-1).},
publisher = {Frontiers in Media},
keywords = {Reversal learning},
keywords = {Emotional facial expression},
keywords = {Threat-of-shock},
keywords = {Startle reflex},
keywords = {Social learning},
title = {Reversing Threat to Safety: Incongruence of Facial Emotions and Instructed Threat Modulates Conscious Perception but Not Physiological Responding},
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02091},
author = {Bublatzky, Florian and Reimer, Martin and Guerra Muñoz, Pedro María},
}