The Simon effect triggered by the gaze direction in painful and happy faces

Authors

  • Paulo Frassinetti Delfino do Nascimento Universidade Federal de Campina Grande
  • Nelson Torro Alves Universidade Federal da Paraíba
  • Ana Mércia Fernandes Universidade Federal da Paraíba
  • José Aparecido da Silva Universidade de São Paulo
  • Luiz de Gonzaga Gawryszewski Universidade Federal Fluminense
  • Allan Pablo Lameira Universidade Federal de Campina Grande

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-8623.2018.1.26876

Keywords:

Empathy, Pain, Happiness, Simon effect.

Abstract

Although irrelevant to the task, gaze direction can influence reaction time responses in a Simon task insofar as it automatically generates a spatial code. Facial expressions also influence observers’ responses and they can activate approach or avoidance behavioral tendencies. In the present study, we investigated whether the facilitation of the response triggered by gaze direction would be reduced for the evaluation of facial expressions of pain as compared to happiness. We also analyzed the effect of sequence presentation of the facial expressions, in which the facilitation or inhibition caused by an emotional expression affects the response in a subsequent trial. Results show that painful faces cause a response inhibition in the present and subsequent trials, indicating an emotional empathy for pain. The type of the facial expression (happiness or pain) did not influenced the facilitation of the response promoted by gaze direction. This methodology is presented as a new strategy to investigate emotional empathy, especially in disorders related to the reduction of the empathy.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ansorge, U. (2003). Spatial Simon effects and compatibility effects induced by observed gaze direction. Visual Cognition, 10(3), 363-383. https://doi.org/10.1080/13506280244000122

Anticevic, A., Van Snellenberg, J. X., Cohen, R. E., Repovs, G., Dowd, E. C., & Barch, D. M. (2012). Amygdala recruitment in schizophrenia in response to aversive emotional material: a meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 38(3), 608-621. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbq131

Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Hill, J., Raste, Y., & Plumb, I. (2001). The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test Revised Version: A Study with Normal Adults, and Adults with Asperger Syndrome or High-functioning Autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42(2), 241-251. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00715

Baron-Cohen, S. & Wheelwright, S. (2004). The empathy quotient: an investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34(2), 163-175. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JADD.0000022607.19833.00

Benarroch, E.E. (2015). The amygdala: functional organization and involvement in neurologic disorders. Neurology, 84, 313-324. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000001171

Botvinick, M., Jha, A. P., Bylsma, L. M., Fabian, S. A., Solomon, P. E., & Prkachin, K. M. (2005). Viewing facial expressions of pain engages cortical areas involved in the direct experience of pain. Neuroimage, 25, 312-319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.11.043

Bufalari, I. & Ionta, S. (2013). The social and personality neuroscience of empathy for pain' and touch. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 393. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00393

Carlin, J. D. & Calder, A. J. (2013). The neural basis of eye gaze processing. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 23(3), 450-455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2012.11.014

Davis, M. H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidimensional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44(1), 113-126. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.44.1.113

Driver, I. V. J., Davis, G., Ricciardelli, P., Kidd, P., Maxwell, E., & Baron Cohen, S. (1999). Gaze perception triggers reflexive visuospatial orienting. Visual cognition, 6(5), 509-540. https://doi.org/10.1080/135062899394920

Duthoo, W., Abrahamse, E. L., Braem, S., Boehler, C. N., & Notebaert, W. (2014). The heterogeneous world of congruency sequence effects: an update. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1001. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01001

Golan, O., Sinai-Gavrilov, Y., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2015). The Cambridge Mindreading Face-Voice Battery for Children (CAM-C): complex emotion recognition in children with and without autism spectrum conditions. Molecular Autism, 6, 22. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-015-0018-z

González-Roldán, A. M., Martínez-Jauand, M., Muñoz-García, M. A., Sitges, C., Cifre, I., & Montoya, P. (2011). Temporal dissociation in the brain processing of pain and anger faces with different intensities of emotional expression. Pain, 152, 853-859. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2010.12.037

González-Roldán, A. M., Muñoz, M. A., Cifre, I., Sitges, C., & Montoya, P. (2013). Altered psychophysiological responses to the view of others’ pain and anger faces in fibromyalgia patients. The Journal of Pain, 14, 709 719. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2013.01.775

Goubert, L., Craig, K. D., Vervoort, T., Morley, S., Sullivan, M. J., de C. Williams, A. C., Cano, A., & Crombez, G. (2005). Facing others in pain: the effects of empathy. Pain, 118(3), 285-288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2005.10.025

Hooker, C. I., Paller, K. A., Gitelman, D. R., Parrish, T. B., Mesulam, M. M., & Reber, P.J. (2003). Brain networks for analyzing eye gaze. Brain Research. Cognitive Brain Research, 17(2), 406-418. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0926-6410(03)00143-5

Itier, R. J. & Batty, M. (2009). Neural bases of eye and gaze processing: The core of social cognition. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 33(6), 843-863. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.02.004

Jackson, P. L., Meltzoff, A. N., & Decety, J. (2005). How do we perceive the pain of others? A window into the neural processes involved in empathy. Neuroimage, 24, 771-779. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.09.006

Lameira, A. P., Gawryszewski, L. G., & Pereira Jr., A. (2006). Neurônios espelho. Psicologia-USP, 17, 123-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.09.006

Leppänen, J. M., Tenhunen, M., & Hietanen, J. K. (2003). Faster choice reaction times to positive than to negative facial expressions: The role of cognitive and motor processes. Journal of Psychophysiology, 17(3), 113 123. https://doi.org/10.1027//0269-8803.17.3.113

Downloads

Published

2018-04-04

How to Cite

do Nascimento, P. F. D., Alves, N. T., Fernandes, A. M., da Silva, J. A., Gawryszewski, L. de G., & Lameira, A. P. (2018). The Simon effect triggered by the gaze direction in painful and happy faces. Psico, 49(1), 43–49. https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-8623.2018.1.26876

Issue

Vol. 49 No. 1 (2018)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright

The submission of originals to Psico implies the transfer by the authors of the right for publication. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication. If the authors wish to include the same data into another publication, they must cite Psico as the site of original publication.

Creative Commons License

Except where otherwise specified, material published in this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, which allows unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is correctly cited.

Most read articles by the same author(s)