PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

The anger-superiority hypothesis states that angry faces are detected more efficiently than friendly faces. ecological validity. The authors argue that a confounding of appearance and meaning is unavoidable and even Unproblematic if real faces are presented. Four experiments tested carefully controlled photos in a search-asymmetry design. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed more efficient detection of an angry face among happy faces than vice versa. Experiment 3 indicated that the advantage was line to the mouth. but not to the eyes. and Experiment 4. using, upright and inverted thatcherized faces. suggests a perceptual basis. The results are in line with a sensory-bias hypothesis that facial expressions evolved to exploit extant capabilities of the Visual system.