The effect of facial expressions on peripersonal and interpersonal spaces

• DOI: 10.1007/s00426-016-0806-x
• Publication Date: 2016-10-26T15:19:58Z
• Authors: Gennaro Ruggiero; Francesca Frassin...; Yann Coello; Mariachiara Rapuano; Armando Schiano d...; Tina Iachini
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Emotions; Facial Expression; [SCCO]Cognitive science; Personal Space; Young Adult; 03 medical and health sciences; peripersonal action space, interpersonal social space, approach-avoidance behaviors, facial emotional expressions, defensive function; 0302 clinical medicine; Space Perception; Avoidance Learning; Humans; Female; Interpersonal Relations

Identifying individuals' intent through the emotional valence conveyed by their facial expression influences our capacity to approach-avoid these individuals during social interactions. Here, we explore if and how the emotional valence of others' facial expressiveness modulates peripersonal-action and interpersonal-social spaces. Through Immersive Virtual Reality, participants determined reachability-distance (for peripersonal space) and comfort-distance (for interpersonal space) from male/female virtual confederates exhibiting happy, angry and neutral facial expressions while being approached by (passive-approach) or walking toward (active-approach) them. Results showed an increase of distance when seeing angry rather than happy confederates in both approach conditions of comfort-distance. The effect also appeared in reachability-distance, but only in the passive-approach. Anger prompts avoidant behaviors, and thus an expansion of distance, particularly with a potential violation of near body space by an intruder. Overall, the findings suggest that peripersonal-action space, in comparison with interpersonal-social space, is similarly sensitive to the emotional valence of stimuli. We propose that this similarity could reflect a common adaptive mechanism shared by these spaces, presumably at different degrees, for ensuring self-protection functions.