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The anger superiority effect states that it is easier to detect angry faces than happy faces in a crowd of neutral ones. This idea was said to have evolved over phylogenic development because it is beneficial to be able to quickly detect a threat in a given environment.[1] Niedenthal et al. cite recent research that questions the hidden perceptual versus emotional factors that might account for this so-called anger superiority effect.[2] In congruence with the findings of this research, Niedenthal et al. tested the anger superiority effect using a neural analyzes of human faces in two different simulations in order to separate emotional and perceptual processes. What they found was that perceptual bias is causing a faster, more accurate identification of anger faces.[3]

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References[]

  1. [Hansen, C. H., & Hansen, R. D. (1988). Finding the face in the crowd – An anger superiority effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 917–924].
  2. [Juth, P., Lundqvist, D., Karlsson, A., & Ohman, A. (2005). Looking for foes and friends: Perceptual and emotional factors when finding a face in the crowd. Emotion, 5(4), 379–395.
  3. Mermillod, M., et al. Neural computation as a tool to differentiate perceptual from ...Cognition (2009), DOI:10.1016/j.cognition.2008.11.009