Ability to Recognize Sadness in Ambiguous Facial Expressions Affects Empathy for Pain

ZHONG Weifang; GUO Yongxing

doi:10.12139/j.1672-0628.2022.05.002

Studies of Psychology and Behavior >

2022 , Vol. 20 >Issue 5: 585 - 592

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12139/j.1672-0628.2022.05.002

Ability to Recognize Sadness in Ambiguous Facial Expressions Affects Empathy for Pain

ZHONG Weifang ,
GUO Yongxing

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1. Guangdong Justice Police Vocational College, Guangzhou 510520;
2. DiggMind Psychometric Testing Technology Co., Guangzhou 510660;
3. Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631

Received date: 2020-11-18

Online published: 2022-09-20

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Abstract

The present study investigated whether and how the ability to detect sadness in ambiguous facial expressions affects empathy for pain. High and low sadness recognition ability groups of participants were selected by asking them to complete a happiness-sadness expression boundary test. Participants’ electrophysiology data were recorded in a pain empathy task by asking participants to view painful and non-painful pictures from the perspective of others. Data showed that in the event-related potential components N2 and P3, the difference between the amplitude evoked by painful pictures and non-pain pictures was larger for the high sadness recognition ability group than that for the low sadness recognition ability group. These results suggest that the ability to detect sadness in ambiguous facial expressions affects both the early automatic processing and the later controlled processing of empathy for pain, so that people with better sadness recognition ability have higher levels of empathy for pain.

Key words： empathy for pain; sad expression; facial expression recognition; ERP

Cite this article

ZHONG Weifang , GUO Yongxing . Ability to Recognize Sadness in Ambiguous Facial Expressions Affects Empathy for Pain[J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2022 , 20(5) : 585 -592 . DOI: 10.12139/j.1672-0628.2022.05.002

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