Skip to main content Skip to search
Approach-withdrawal and cerebral asymmetry: emotional expression and brain physiology. I
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Short Title: Approach-withdrawal and cerebral asymmetry
Format: Journal Article
Publication Year: n.d.
Pages: 330-341
Sources ID: 22651
Visibility: Private
Zotero Collections: Contexts of Contemplation Project
Abstract: (Show)
In this experiment, we combined the measurement of observable facial behavior with simultaneous measures of brain electrical activity to assess patterns of hemispheric activation in different regions during the experience of happiness and disgust. Disgust was found to be associated with right-sided activation in the frontal and anterior temporal regions compared with the happy condition. Happiness was accompanied by left-sided activation in the anterior temporal region compared with disgust. No differences in asymmetry were found between emotions in the central and parietal regions. When data aggregated across positive films were compared to aggregate negative film data, no reliable differences in brain activity were found. These findings illustrate the utility of using facial behavior to verify the presence of emotion, are consistent with the notion of emotion-specific physiological patterning, and underscore the importance of anterior cerebral asymmetries for emotions associated with approach and withdrawal.
Zotero Collections