When Mind and Body Align: Examining the Role of Cross-Modal Congruency in Conscious Representations of Happy Facial Expressions

Resumen

This study aimed to investigate the impact of congruence between facial mimicry and observed facial expressions on the stabilization of conscious representations of facial expressions. Building upon previous research, our specific hypothesis focused on a congruence effect between proprioceptive/sensorimotor signals and visual stimuli regarding the stabilization of awareness for happy facial expressions during a binocular rivalry task. Participants performed a binocular rivalry task with neutral and happy faces presented in rivalry. Facial mimicry was manipulated by either facilitating facial muscle contraction using a chopstick or allowing free engagement in facial mimicry. Cumulative time (CT) was used as a measure of content stabilization in awareness. Results showed that the manipulation of facial mimicry influenced the CT for happy faces, increasing their stability compared to unrestricted mimicry conditions. The findings suggest that congruence between mimicry and observed facial expressions plays a crucial role in stabilizing content in awareness. These findings contribute to the understanding of how congruent sensorimotor information shapes conscious visual perception of facial expressions. They align with models of embodied cognition, emphasizing the integration of proprioceptive signals in facial expressions, which significantly biases visual conscious experience.

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Cómo citar (APA 7)

Quettier, T., Moro, E., Tsuchiya, N., & Sessa, P. (2023). When Mind and Body Align: Examining the Role of Cross-Modal Congruency in Conscious Representations of Happy Facial Expressions. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/p6rx5