Visual search for real emotional faces: the advantage of anger

AbstractPrevious research indicates angry expressions are detected faster than happy ones, but most data concern schematic faces. The present study looks into the differences in visual search performance in a sample of adults confronted with real neutral, angry, and happy faces of 9 different individuals. Participants searched for a discrepant happy or angry face among neutral or emotional faces. We compared detection speed and accuracy between the angry and happy discrepant face conditions. We measured state and trait anxiety with the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, 1983; Pitariu & Peleasa, 2007) and looked for anxiety modulation on search. Results suggested angry faces were detected more efficiently and no modulation by anxiety. This study offers preliminary evidence for a general attentional bias towards facial threat in a task created to resemble real-life situations of searching through a crowd