Unconscious facial reactions to emotional facial expressions
Dimberg, Thunberg and Elmehed used brief 30-millisecond exposures of happy, neutral and angry faces that participants could not consciously perceive. Even so, participants showed facial muscle reactions that matched the happy and angry faces. The authors conclude that positive and negative emotional reactions can be triggered unconsciously and suggest that important parts of face-to-face emotional communication may operate below conscious awareness.
Dimberg, Thunberg and Elmehed used brief 30-millisecond exposures of happy, neutral and angry faces that participants could not consciously perceive. Even so, participants showed facial muscle reactions that matched the happy and angry faces. The authors conclude that positive and negative emotional reactions can be triggered unconsciously and suggest that important parts of face-to-face emotional communication may operate below conscious awareness.
Written from the abstract and journal record (Crossref), 2026-11-03.
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Dimberg, U., Thunberg, M., & Elmehed, K. (2000). Unconscious facial reactions to emotional facial expressions. Psychological Science, 11(1), 86-89. doi:10.1111/1467-9280.00221 https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00221