Remembering who was where: a happy expression advantage for face identity-location binding in working memory

Spotorno, S., Evans, M. and Jackson, M. C. (2018) Remembering who was where: a happy expression advantage for face identity-location binding in working memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 44(9), pp. 1365-1383. (doi: 10.1037/xlm0000522) (PMID:29672119) (PMCID:PMC6116890)

Abstract

It is well established that visual working memory (WM) for face identity is enhanced when faces display threatening versus nonthreatening expressions. During social interaction, it is also important to bind person identity with location information in WM to remember who was where, but we lack a clear understanding of how emotional expression influences this. Here, we conducted two touchscreen experiments to investigate how angry versus happy expressions displayed at encoding influenced the precision with which participants relocated a single neutral test face to its original position. Maintenance interval was manipulated (Experiment 2; 1 s, 3 s, 6 s) to assess durability of binding. In both experiments, relocation accuracy was enhanced when faces were happy versus angry, and this happy benefit endured from 1-s to 6-s maintenance interval. Eye movement measures during encoding showed no convincing effects of oculomotor behavior that could readily explain the happy benefit. However, accuracy in general was improved, and the happy benefit was strongest for the last, most recent face fixated at encoding. Improved, durable binding of who was where in the presence of a happy expression may reflect the importance of prosocial navigation.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Grant ES/L008912/1 to Margaret C. Jackson.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Spotorno, Dr Sara
• Authors: Spotorno, S., Evans, M., and Jackson, M. C.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience
• Journal Name: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition
• Publisher: American Psychological Association
• ISSN: 0278-7393
• ISSN (Online): 1939-1285
• Published Online: 12 April 2018
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2018 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 44(9): 1365-1383
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License