Question 1

Which of the following best describes Charles Darwin's theory of the origin of facial expressions?

Accepted Answer

A) Initially random, small facial movements became useful communicative signals for organisms, much in the way sexual selection can result in bizarre traits becoming bigger, such as peacock feathers 
B) Each mammalian species evolved its own unique set of expressions, essentially from ""scratch,"" because species have such different facial musculature 
C) Facial expressions begain as functional behaviors that solved adaptive problems, and over time these functions became secondary to the communicative value of expressions 
D) He noted that individual people and animals often express emotions is highly unique and inconsistent ways, leading him to conclude that associative learning is responsible for the formation of facial expressions 
E) He did not believe that the actions involved in facial expressions were random, but were instead pieces of serviceable habits that took on a communicative function over the course of evolution. Facial musculature across mammals is surprisingly well preserved, and in fact Darwin sought to document homologous expressions across species (so B is incorrect) 
A) Initially random, small facial movements became useful communicative signals for organisms, much in the way sexual selection can result in bizarre traits becoming bigger, such as peacock feathers 
B) Each mammalian species evolved its own unique set of expressions, essentially from ""scratch,"" because species have such different facial musculature 
C) Facial expressions begain as functional behaviors that solved adaptive problems, and over time these functions became secondary to the communicative value of expressions 
D) He noted that individual people and animals often express emotions is highly unique and inconsistent ways, leading him to conclude that associative learning is responsible for the formation of facial expressions 
E) He did not believe that the actions involved in facial expressions were random, but were instead pieces of serviceable habits that took on a communicative function over the course of evolution. Facial musculature across mammals is surprisingly well preserved, and in fact Darwin sought to document homologous expressions across species (so B is incorrect)

Question 2

When Matsumoto and Willingham looked at the facial expressions of winning and losing Olympic and Paralympic athletes, comparing first across cultures and then across sighted and blind athletes, what did they find?

Accepted Answer

A) Athletes from more individualistic cultures and sighted athletes produced Duchenne smiles if they won, while individuals from collectivistic cultures and blind athletes produced non-Duchenne smiles 
B) Regardless of what culture the athletes were from or whether they were sighted or blind, winners typically produced Duchenne smiles and losers tended to express sadness and contempt 
C) While they found marked similarity in the expressions of winners and losers across cultures, the blind and sighted athletes differed greatly in their expressions, suggesting a large learning component in facial expression 
D) They found that within a culture, both blind and sighted athletes had very similar winning and losing expressions; however, these varied greatly across cultures, suggesting blind individuals acquire expressive dialects in some other way 
A) Athletes from more individualistic cultures and sighted athletes produced Duchenne smiles if they won, while individuals from collectivistic cultures and blind athletes produced non-Duchenne smiles 
B) Regardless of what culture the athletes were from or whether they were sighted or blind, winners typically produced Duchenne smiles and losers tended to express sadness and contempt 
C) While they found marked similarity in the expressions of winners and losers across cultures, the blind and sighted athletes differed greatly in their expressions, suggesting a large learning component in facial expression 
D) They found that within a culture, both blind and sighted athletes had very similar winning and losing expressions; however, these varied greatly across cultures, suggesting blind individuals acquire expressive dialects in some other way

Question 3

Van Hooff (1976) suggested that what feature of human facial expression may have originated from our ancestors' ability to move their ears?

Accepted Answer

A) Our ability to pull our lips back during states like fear and joy 
B) Our general lack of expressiveness in the eye area 
C) Our use of eye gaze to communicate information about the location of salient stimuli 
D) The expressiveness of our eyebrows during various emotion states 
A) Our ability to pull our lips back during states like fear and joy 
B) Our general lack of expressiveness in the eye area 
C) Our use of eye gaze to communicate information about the location of salient stimuli 
D) The expressiveness of our eyebrows during various emotion states

Question 4

What feature of the brain systems involved in producing facial expressions hints at the face's importance for emotion?

Accepted Answer

A) Without facial expressions, the brain cannot experience an emotion state 
B) We have no voluntary control over our facial muscles, suggesting they are under the full control of the brain's emotion system 
C) Facial muscles are ennervated exclusively by a direct connection from the hypothalamus, which is associated with emotion 
D) Facial muscles are controlled by a distribution of cortical and subcortical areas, receiving indirect connections from systems associated with emotion 
A) Without facial expressions, the brain cannot experience an emotion state 
B) We have no voluntary control over our facial muscles, suggesting they are under the full control of the brain's emotion system 
C) Facial muscles are ennervated exclusively by a direct connection from the hypothalamus, which is associated with emotion 
D) Facial muscles are controlled by a distribution of cortical and subcortical areas, receiving indirect connections from systems associated with emotion

Question 5

In 1988, why did Strack, Martin, and Stepper ask participants to hold pens in their mouths?

Accepted Answer

A) To control for extraneous movement during EMG recordings 
B) To see if they would rate cartoons as funnier when they were ""smiling"" compared to when they were not allowed to smile 
C) To see whether inducing participants to be in a good mood helps them do boring, uncomfortable tasks for a longer period of time 
D) So that they could more easily align their faces with those of their interaction partners, which tends to trigger facial mimicry 
A) To control for extraneous movement during EMG recordings 
B) To see if they would rate cartoons as funnier when they were ""smiling"" compared to when they were not allowed to smile 
C) To see whether inducing participants to be in a good mood helps them do boring, uncomfortable tasks for a longer period of time 
D) So that they could more easily align their faces with those of their interaction partners, which tends to trigger facial mimicry

Question 6

What supposedly uniquely human phenomenon shares features with emotion communication in monkeys, according to Charles Snowdon?

Accepted Answer

A) Spoken language 
B) Music 
C) Laughter 
D) Sarcasm 
A) Spoken language 
B) Music 
C) Laughter 
D) Sarcasm

Question 7

Researchers have noted similarities in function and appearance between human smiles and the facial expression chimpanzees make when they play. What is the word used to describe such cross-species similarity?

Accepted Answer

A) Homologous 
B) Analogous 
C) Convergent evolution 
D) Divergent evolution 
A) Homologous 
B) Analogous 
C) Convergent evolution 
D) Divergent evolution

Question 8

Some researchers (e.g., Bachorowski, 1999) argue that the voice alone cannot express discrete emotions. What is the primary feature of emotion that is identifiable in speech, according to these researchers?

Accepted Answer

A) Social intention 
B) Valence 
C) Physiological arousal 
D) Approach/avoidance 
A) Social intention 
B) Valence 
C) Physiological arousal 
D) Approach/avoidance

Question 9

Aviezer, Trope, & Todorov (2012) had people identify the emotions expressed in photographs of tennis players who had either just won or lost a match. What property of combined emotion expressions (that is, whole-person expressions involving both the face and body) did they reveal?

Accepted Answer

A) At extreme intensity levels, the face reveals a lot more about the valence of an emotion expression than does the body 
B) Naturalistic emotion expressions are unpredictable and difficult to recognize, so perceivers always have to rely on contextual information from the environment 
C) The body is always more informative than the face in revealing whether a person is feeling positive or negative, suggesting emotion science's focus on the face is misguided 
D) At extreme intensity levels, positive and negative emotions are nearly indistinguishable on the face, so cues from the body can help indicate the valence of the expresser's feelings 
A) At extreme intensity levels, the face reveals a lot more about the valence of an emotion expression than does the body 
B) Naturalistic emotion expressions are unpredictable and difficult to recognize, so perceivers always have to rely on contextual information from the environment 
C) The body is always more informative than the face in revealing whether a person is feeling positive or negative, suggesting emotion science's focus on the face is misguided 
D) At extreme intensity levels, positive and negative emotions are nearly indistinguishable on the face, so cues from the body can help indicate the valence of the expresser's feelings

Question 10

What is the effect of shared social group membership on emotion perception?

Accepted Answer

A) People engage in more facial mimicry with members of other groups than members of their own social groups 
B) Although people have more daily exposure to the expressions of their ingroup members compared to non-group members, there is no documented difference in emotion recognition accuracy between social groups 
C) Observers tend to be slightly more accurate in recognizing the emotion expressions of their own group members compared to the expressions of people not in their group 
D) Both A and C are true 
A) People engage in more facial mimicry with members of other groups than members of their own social groups 
B) Although people have more daily exposure to the expressions of their ingroup members compared to non-group members, there is no documented difference in emotion recognition accuracy between social groups 
C) Observers tend to be slightly more accurate in recognizing the emotion expressions of their own group members compared to the expressions of people not in their group 
D) Both A and C are true

Which of the following best describes Charles Darwin's theory of the origin of facial expressions?

When Matsumoto and Willingham looked at the facial expressions of winning and losing Olympic and Paralympic athletes, comparing first across cultures and then across sighted and blind athletes, what did they find?

Van Hooff (1976) suggested that what feature of human facial expression may have originated from our ancestors' ability to move their ears?

What feature of the brain systems involved in producing facial expressions hints at the face's importance for emotion?

In 1988, why did Strack, Martin, and Stepper ask participants to hold pens in their mouths?

What supposedly uniquely human phenomenon shares features with emotion communication in monkeys, according to Charles Snowdon?

Researchers have noted similarities in function and appearance between human smiles and the facial expression chimpanzees make when they play. What is the word used to describe such cross-species similarity?

Some researchers (e.g., Bachorowski, 1999) argue that the voice alone cannot express discrete emotions. What is the primary feature of emotion that is identifiable in speech, according to these researchers?

Aviezer, Trope, & Todorov (2012) had people identify the emotions expressed in photographs of tennis players who had either just won or lost a match. What property of combined emotion expressions (that is, whole-person expressions involving both the face and body) did they reveal?

What is the effect of shared social group membership on emotion perception?

Theories of Emotion

Methods for the Science of Emotion

The Emotional Brain

Functions of Emotion

Self-Conscious Emotions

Happiness

Emotion and Cognition

Emotion Regulation

Emotion and Group Processes

Gender and Emotion

Universals and Cultural Differences in Emotions

Filters

Exam 5: Expression of Emotion

Which of the following best describes Charles Darwin's theory of the origin of facial expressions?

When Matsumoto and Willingham looked at the facial expressions of winning and losing Olympic and Paralympic athletes, comparing first across cultures and then across sighted and blind athletes, what did they find?

Van Hooff (1976) suggested that what feature of human facial expression may have originated from our ancestors' ability to move their ears?

What feature of the brain systems involved in producing facial expressions hints at the face's importance for emotion?

In 1988, why did Strack, Martin, and Stepper ask participants to hold pens in their mouths?

What supposedly uniquely human phenomenon shares features with emotion communication in monkeys, according to Charles Snowdon?

Researchers have noted similarities in function and appearance between human smiles and the facial expression chimpanzees make when they play. What is the word used to describe such cross-species similarity?

Some researchers (e.g., Bachorowski, 1999) argue that the voice alone cannot express discrete emotions. What is the primary feature of emotion that is identifiable in speech, according to these researchers?

Aviezer, Trope, & Todorov (2012) had people identify the emotions expressed in photographs of tennis players who had either just won or lost a match. What property of combined emotion expressions (that is, whole-person expressions involving both the face and body) did they reveal?

What is the effect of shared social group membership on emotion perception?

Theories of Emotion

Methods for the Science of Emotion

The Emotional Brain

Functions of Emotion

Self-Conscious Emotions

Happiness

Emotion and Cognition

Emotion Regulation

Emotion and Group Processes

Gender and Emotion

Universals and Cultural Differences in Emotions

Filters