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Hemispheric Differences in Identifying Emotionally Expressive Body Movements
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by Ishabel Vicaria - Stetson University
Categories: Emotion | Physiological
This study combined 2 fields of research: the expression of emotions through body movements and hemispheric differences in the perception of emotion. Sixty participants were divided into 6 groups according to visual field exposure (Left, Right, Center) and type of stimuli (Still Image or Video). Each group saw emotion stimuli depicting happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger. Video groups were significantly more accurate in identifying the correct emotion than the Still Images groups. In comparison to the Right Visual Field groups, there was a trend for higher accuracy ratings by the Left Visual Field groups. Male participants were more accurate than the female participants. The results provide support for a right hemispheric superiority in identifying nonverbally expressed emotions.
Spring 2010 | Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research (Vol. 15, No. 1, p. 18), published by Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology (Chattanooga, TN). Copyright, 2010, Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology. All rights reserved.