Facial expression categorization predominantly relies on mid-spatial frequencies

Charbonneau, Isabelle, Duncan, Justin, Blais, Caroline, Guérette, Joël, Plouffe-Demers, Marie-Pier, Smith, Fraser and Fiset, Daniel (2025) Facial expression categorization predominantly relies on mid-spatial frequencies. Vision Research, 231. ISSN 0042-6989

Preview

PDF (1-s2.0-S0042698925000720-main) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. Download (3MB) | Preview

Abstract

Facial expressions are crucial in human communication. Recent decades have seen growing interest in understanding the role of spatial frequencies (SFs) in emotion perception in others. While some studies have suggested a preferential treatment of low versus high SFs, the optimal SFs for recognizing basic facial expressions remain elusive. This study, conducted on Western participants, addresses this gap using two complementary methods: a data-driven method (Exp. 1) without arbitrary SF cut-offs, and a more naturalistic method (Exp. 2) simulating variations in viewing distance. Results generally showed a preponderant role of low over high SFs, but particularly stress that facial expression categorization mostly relies on mid-range SF content (i.e. ∼6–13 cycles per face), often overlooked in previous studies. Optimal performance was observed at short to medium viewing distances (1.2–2.4 m), declining sharply with increased distance, precisely when mid-range SFs were no longer available. Additionally, our data suggest variations in SF tuning profiles across basic facial expressions and nuanced contributions from low and mid SFs in facial expression processing. Most importantly, it suggests that any method that removes mid-SF content has the downfall of offering an incomplete account of SFs diagnosticity for facial expression recognition.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	3* ,/dk/atira/pure/researchoutput/REFrank/3_
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Psychology
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Cognition, Action and Perception
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	24 Apr 2025 13:30
Last Modified:	11 May 2025 00:07
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/99084
DOI:	10.1016/j.visres.2025.108611

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item