Emotional elicitation by dynamic facial expressions

In the present study, we investigated the emotional effect of the dynamic presentation of facial expressions. Dynamic presentation of facial expressions was implemented using a computer-morphing technique. We presented dynamic and static expressions of fear and happiness, as well as other dynamic and static mosaic images, to 17 subjects. Subjects rated the valence and arousal of their emotional response to the images. Results indicated higher reported arousal in response to dynamic presentations than to static facial expressions (for both emotions) and to mosaic images. These results suggest that the specific effect of the dynamic presentation of emotional facial expressions is that it enhances the overall emotional experience without a corresponding qualitative change in that experience, and that this effect is not restricted to facial images.