Novel Method for Quantifying Facial Expression

Laura Yost,* Melissa Atkins, Jonathan Day-Brown
Department of Psychology, Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25755

Presentation Category: Social & Behavioral Sciences (Poster Presentation)

Student’s Major: Psychology

Numerous studies on hemifacial expression have established that for most, emotion is primarily controlled by the right cerebral hemisphere. Motor control being contralateral, this organization is manifested in a more expressive left hemiface. However, the organization of a left-handed individual’s brain is not so certain as most research has only been conducted with right-handed individuals. It is possible that a left-handed individual’s emotion processes might be differently organized based on the knowledge that motor control is contralateral. Prior research has focused on qualitative assessment of facial expressions; using a quantitative measurement of the distance between the corner of the eye to the corner of the mouth in both neutral and positive expressions can assist in indicating which hemiface more intensely expresses emotion. Using qualitative (chimeric imaging) plus quantitative measurements (exocanthus-chelion ratio) allow for a better understanding of the lateralization of emotion processing in left-handed individuals. This project describes a novel method for quantifying facial expressivity using virtual data collection methods, as a way of probing underlying brain organization.

Funding:

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: a West Virginia SURE program