Cited by 3,454Face Recognition and PerceptionEmotion and Mood RecognitionFace recognition and analysis

The NimStim set of facial expressions: Judgments from untrained research participants.

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Tottenham, Nim, Tanaka, James W., Leon, Andrew C., McCarry, Thomas, Nurse, Marcella, Hare, Todd A., Marcus, David J., Westerlund, Alissa +2 more·2009·Psychiatry Research

Abstract

A set of face stimuli called the NimStim Set of Facial Expressions is described. The goal in creating this set was to provide facial expressions that untrained individuals, characteristic of research participants, would recognize. This set is large in number, multiracial, and available to the scientific community online. The results of psychometric evaluations of these stimuli are presented. The results lend empirical support for the validity and reliability of this set of facial expressions as determined by accurate identification of expressions and high intra-participant agreement across two testing sessions, respectively.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.psychres.2008.05.006

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  • Calm faces are less positive and less arousing than happy faces.

    “Though normative data suggest that calm faces are less positive and arousing than happy faces (Tottenham et al., 2009)”

    From Frontostriatal maturation predicts cognitive control failure to appetitive cues in adolescents (2011) · cites this paper as Tottenham et al., 2009

    The Method (§2.3.3; page unavailable) defines calm as close to neutral and only slightly happy, supporting the description of calm faces as less positive than happy faces. The paper distinguishes high-arousal happy expressions in the Introduction (§1; page unavailable), but does not report a calm-versus-happy arousal comparison. Its normative judgments concern expression labels, not ratings of both qualities. (LLM, conf=0.83)

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Ekman P Friesen WV 1977 Manual for the Facial Action Coding System Consulting Psychologists Press Palo Alto, CA
  2. Ekman P Friesen WV 1978 Facial Action Coding System: A Technique for the Measurement of Facial Movement Consulting Psychologists Press Palo Alto, CA
  3. Ekman P Matsumoto 1993–2004 Japanese and Caucasian Facial Expressions of Emotion (JACFEE) Consulting Psychologists Press Palo Alto, CA

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Authors
Tottenham, N., Tanaka, J. W., Leon, A. C., McCarry, T., Nurse, M., Hare, T. A., Marcus, D. J., Westerlund, A., Casey, B., & Nelson, C.
Affiliations
  • Cornell University (US)
  • University of Victoria (CA)
  • Weill Cornell Medicine (US)
  • Children's National (US)
  • Boston Children's Hospital (US)
Corresponding author
Tottenham, Nim
Venue
Psychiatry Research
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2009-08
Volume
168
Issue
3
Pages
242-249
ISSN
0165-1781 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2098958400
Cited by
3,454
References
46
Citations by year
2026: 112 · 2025: 159 · 2024: 173 · 2023: 179 · 2022: 257 · 2021: 251 · 2020: 221 · 2019: 251 · 2018: 255 · 2017: 244 · 2016: 247 · 2015: 230 · 2014: 193 · 2013: 201 · 2012: 186
FWCI
73.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Psychiatry Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH091864, R01MH078829)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Emotion and Mood Recognition
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Face recognition and analysis
Keywords
facial expressions, facial expression recognition, face stimuli, psychometric validation, inter-rater reliability
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Emotions, Facial Expression, Humans, Judgment, Neuropsychological Tests, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Photic Stimulation, Psychometrics, Reaction Time, Reproducibility of Results, Young Adult

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