Attributing emotion to static body postures: recognition accuracy, confusions, and viewpoint dependence

ABSTRACT: A total of 176 computer-generated mannequin figures were produced from descriptions of postural expressions of emotion in order to investigate the attri-bution of emotion to static body postures. Each posture was rendered from 3 view-ing angles and presented to participants in a forced-decision task. Concordance rates for attributions of 6 emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise) ranged from zero for many disgust postures to over 90 percent for some anger and sadness postures. Anatomical variables and viewing angle were shown to predict participants ’ responses. Analysis of the confusion matrix suggested a cir-cumplex solution with happiness and surprise sharing a similar position, and few confusions between the other four emotions. The means by which emotions may be attributed to static body postures are discussed, as are avenues for further research. KEY WORDS: emotion; expression; posture. The role of body posture in the expression and communication of emo-tion remains the poor relation of research into facial and vocal expression. Since publication of Darwin’s The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (Darwin, 1872/1965), a great deal of attention has focused on how emotions are communicated through facial expression, and much has been learned ranging from knowledge of the ways in which individual muscles contribute to each expression (e.g. Ekman & Friesen, 1984; Izard, 1979; Rinn, 1984) to the similarities and differences between cultures in emo