Emotions and facial expression: New challenges

Abstract

Starting from controversial questions in research about emotion and facial expressions, we review some theoretical positions of Emotional Expression Approach and present some research alternatives. Some questions are analysed: terminology; spontaneous or deliberated expressions; information given by facial expressions; culture versus universality of emotional facial expressions; context influence; methodology. New challenges are emphasized when we analyse emergent guidelines in the study of the link between emotion and facial expression, which lead to: influence of social and communicative aspects; multifunctionality; specific cultural emotional dialects; growing valorisation of context; component analysis; facial behaviour as dependent variable; analysis of natural contexts; emphasis in Componential Models. 

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17575/rpsicol.v24i2.303