Facial Expressions Play Important Role in Every Day Communication

October 7, 2014

A new study shows that people with facial paralysis are perceived as being less happy, simply because they cannot communicate in the universal language of facial expression.

The research came from Kathleen Bogart, an assistant professor of Psychology at Oregon State University who primarily focuses most of her work on the psychosocial implications of facial movement disorders such as facial paralysis and Parkinson’s disease.

“People need to be able to recognize facial paralysis, and understand that they may need to pay more attention to communication cues beyond facial expression,” she said.

The findings highlight the important role the face places in every day communication and indicates people may hold a prejudice against those with facial paralysis because of their disability.

“People are more wary and more likely to form a negative impression of someone with a disability,” Bogart said. “Identifying that stigma is the first step to addressing it.”

The smile is just one example of the basic facial expressions communicated universally across cultures. People with facial paralysis or other facial movement disorders however may not be able to participate in that communication because they lack emotional expression and may seem unresponsive in social situations.

“Facial paralysis is highly visible, everyone notices there’s a difference, but people have no idea why. They don’t understand the nature of the condition,” said Bogart.

To better understand how those without facial paralysis perceive those with facial paralysis, Bogart conducted an experiment comparing how emotions are perceived based on different forms of communication.

120 participants, none of whom had facial paralysis, watched or listened to videos of people with varying degrees of facial paralysis.

Participants were then asked to rate the person’s emotions as they recounted happy or sad experiences.

The videos assigned highlighted several communication channels, including video of just the person’s face; video of the person’s face and body; or voice-only audio with no video; as well as combinations of different types of communication.

Those with severe facial paralysis were rated as less happy than those with milder facial paralysis across all the different communication types and combinations. Those with severe facial paralysis were also rated as less sad than those with milder facial paralysis.

The findings confirmed that people with facial paralysis experience stigma, but it also confirmed that people often rely on a combination of communication channels to perceive emotions, Bogart said.

This is important because people with facial paralysis can adapt other communication channels, such as tone of voice or gestures, to enhance their communication ability. Also, people interacting with someone with facial paralysis can be more watchful of other communication cues that might indicate emotion.

“It’s not all about the face,” Bogart said. “Studies like this tell us more about the way people communicate, verbally and non-verbally.”

Bogart is now also studying compensatory strategies, to help people with facial paralysis improve communication. “A lot of people with facial paralysis do just fine, but there are some people who would like help or support.”

Making people aware of the stigma about facial paralysis and educating them about the causes and effects is the biggest key to reducing existing misconceptions and prejudices, Bogart said.

Kathleen Bogart’s findings were recently published in the journal “Basic and Applied Social Psychology.” Co-authors of the study are Linda Tickle-Degnen of Tufts University and Nalini Ambady of Stanford University. The research was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Article by Sara-Anne Mills-Bricknell (PR Volunteer)