The DOI matches its Crossref record; 44 of the 44 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The effects of fear and anger facial expressions on approach- and avoidance-related behaviors
Abstract
The facial expressions of fear and anger are universal social signals in humans. Both expressions have been frequently presumed to signify threat to perceivers and therefore are often used in studies investigating responses to threatening stimuli. Here the authors show that the anger expression facilitates avoidance-related behavior in participants, which supports the notion of this expression being a threatening stimulus. The fear expression, on the other hand, facilitates approach behaviors in perceivers. This contradicts the notion of the fear expression as predominantly threatening or aversive and suggests it may represent an affiliative stimulus. Although the fear expression may signal that a threat is present in the environment, the effect of the expression on conspecifics may be in part to elicit approach.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Arm flexion (approach) is elicited by happy faces and faster arm extension (avoidance) is elicited by angry faces [31], [32]”
From A direct examination of the effect of intranasal administration of oxytocin on approach-avoidance motor responses to emotional stimuli (2013) · cites this paper as [31]
In the citing paper
“although it should be noted that the simple perception of affective stimuli has been sufficient to induce motivational tendencies in a large number of published studies [27], [31], [32].”
From A direct examination of the effect of intranasal administration of oxytocin on approach-avoidance motor responses to emotional stimuli (2013) · cites this paper as [31]
In the citing paper
“While anger and fear can elicit both approach (fight) and avoidance (flee) tendencies [31]”
From A direct examination of the effect of intranasal administration of oxytocin on approach-avoidance motor responses to emotional stimuli (2013) · cites this paper as [31]
Citations
Cites
The expression of the emotions in man and animals.
Darwin, C. D. (1872) · J. Murray eBooks · doi:10.1037/10001-000 · Cited by 12,120
SMITH, J. M., & PRICE, G. R. (1973) · Nature · doi:10.1038/246015a0 · Cited by 5,089
Fears, phobias, and preparedness: toward an evolved module of fear and fear learning
Öhman, A., & Mineka, S. (2001) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.108.3.483 · Cited by 3,147 · cited 1×
“Although not all aversive stimuli are threatening (some may be, e.g., disgusting or sad instead), threatening stimuli are, by definition, aversive (Öhman & Mineka, 2001).”
BackgroundWhalen, P. J., Rauch, S. L., Etcoff, N. L., McInerney, S. C., Lee, M. B., & Jenike, M. A. (1998) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.18-01-00411.1998 · Cited by 2,205
A differential neural response in the human amygdala to fearful and happy facial expressions
Morris, J. S., Frith, C. D., Perrett, D. I., Rowland, D., Young, A. W., Calder, A. J., & Dolan, R. J. (1996) · Nature · doi:10.1038/383812a0 · Cited by 2,013
Cacioppo, J. T., & Berntson, G. G. (1994) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.115.3.401 · Cited by 1,870
Response and Habituation of the Human Amygdala during Visual Processing of Facial Expression
Breiter, H. C., Etcoff, N. L., Whalen, P. J., Kennedy, W. A., Rauch, S. L., Buckner, R. L., Strauss, M. M., Hyman, S. E., & Rosen, B. R. (1996) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/s0896-6273(00)80219-6 · Cited by 1,711
Beech, H. R. (1963) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(63)90032-1 · Cited by 1,679
A cognitive developmental approach to morality: investigating the psychopath
Blair, R. (1995) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/0010-0277(95)00676-p · Cited by 1,529
Motivated attention : affect, activation, and action
Lang, P. J., Bradley, M. M., & Cuthbert, B. N. (1997) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 1,486
Chen, M., & Bargh, J. A. (1999) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167299025002007 · Cited by 1,473
Human facial expression: an evolutionary view
(1995) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.32-3890 · Cited by 1,276
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
Darwin, C. R., & Lorenz, K. Z. (1965) · University of Chicago Press eBooks · doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226220802.001.0001 · Cited by 1,271
Dissociable neural responses to facial expressions of sadness and anger
Blair, R. J. R., Morris, J. S., Frith, C. D., Perrett, D. I., & Dolan, R. J. (1999) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/122.5.883 · Cited by 1,212
Is empathic emotion a source of altruistic motivation?
Batson, C. D., Duncan, B. D., Ackerman, P., Buckley, T., & Birch, K. (1981) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.40.2.290 · Cited by 1,169
Cacioppo, J. T., Priester, J. R., & Berntson, G. G. (1993) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.65.1.5 · Cited by 871
Lang, P. J., Simons, R. F., Balaban, M. T., & Simons, R. (2013) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203726457 · Cited by 794
A functional MRI study of human amygdala responses to facial expressions of fear versus anger.
Whalen, P. J., Shin, L. M., McInerney, S. C., Fischer, H., Wright, C. I., & Rauch, S. L. (2001) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/1528-3542.1.1.70 · Cited by 660
Förster, J., Higgins, E. T., & Idson, L. C. (1998) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.75.5.1115 · Cited by 645
A Cognitive-Developmental Approach to Moral Education.
Kohlberg, L. (1972) · Phi Delta Kappan · Cited by 613
Förster, J., Higgins, E. T., & Idson, L. C. (1998) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.75.5.1115 · Cited by 446
Solarz, A. K. (1960) · Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0047274 · Cited by 425
Wetzel, R. C., Baiocchi, F. A., Hayes, T. R., & Freund, R. S. (1987) · Physical Review A · doi:10.1103/physreva.35.559 · Cited by 398
Hess, U., Blairy, S., & Kleck, R. E. (2000) · Journal of Nonverbal Behavior · doi:10.1023/a:1006623213355 · Cited by 340
Self-citationSubmission: Its Features and Function in the Wolf and Dog
Schenkel, R. (1967) · American Zoologist · doi:10.1093/icb/7.2.319 · Cited by 318
A Role for the Human Amygdala in Recognizing Emotional Arousal From Unpleasant Stimuli
Adolphs, R., Russell, J. A., & Tranel, D. (1999) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/1467-9280.00126 · Cited by 236
Automatic affective evaluation does not automatically predispose for arm flexion and extension
Rotteveel, M., & Phaf, R. H. (2004) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/1528-3542.4.2.156 · Cited by 232
Why Do Fear and Anger Look the Way They Do? Form and Social Function in Facial Expressions
Marsh, A. A., Adams, R. B., & Kleck, R. E. (2004) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167204271306 · Cited by 202
Self-citationMimicry and the Judgment of Emotional Facial Expressions
Blairy, S., Herrera, P., & Heß, U. (1999) · Journal of Nonverbal Behavior · doi:10.1023/a:1021370825283 · Cited by 200
Signal modeling for ion cyclotron resonance
Comisarow, M. B. (1978) · The Journal of Chemical Physics · doi:10.1063/1.437143 · Cited by 194
Selamoglu, N., Mucha, J. A., Ibbotson, D. E., & Flamm, D. L. (1989) · Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B Microelectronics Processing and Phenomena · doi:10.1116/1.584536 · Cited by 113
Exact mass measurement by Fourier transform mass spectrometry
Ledford, E. B., Ghaderi, S., White, R. L., Spencer, R. B., Kulkarni, P. S., Wilkins, C. L., & Gross, M. L. (1980) · Analytical Chemistry · doi:10.1021/ac50053a021 · Cited by 103
Caring Behavior in Children of Clinically Depressed and Well Mothers
Radke‐Yarrow, M., Zahn‐Waxler, C., Richardson, D. T., Susman-Stillman, A., & Martinez, P. E. (1994) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1994.tb00825.x · Cited by 98
Wagner, H. L., Buck, R., & Winterbotham, M. (1993) · Journal of Nonverbal Behavior · doi:10.1007/bf00987007 · Cited by 78
Deposition of Silica Films by the Glow Discharge Technique
Secrist, D. R., & MacKenzie, J. D. (1966) · Journal of The Electrochemical Society · doi:10.1149/1.2424155 · Cited by 68
Chang, C. P., Pai, C. S., & Hsieh, J. J. (1990) · Journal of Applied Physics · doi:10.1063/1.345546 · Cited by 65
Caring Behavior in Children of Clinically Depressed and Well Mothers
Radke‐Yarrow, M., Zahn‐Waxler, C., Richardson, D. T., Susman-Stillman, A., & Martinez, P. (1994) · Child Development · doi:10.2307/1131507 · Cited by 57
Ing, S. W., & Davern, W. E. (1965) · Journal of The Electrochemical Society · doi:10.1149/1.2423524 · Cited by 45
Testosterone intake and aggressiveness: Real effect or anticipation?
Björkqvist, K., Nygren, T., Björklund, A.-C., & Björkqvist, S.-E. (1994) · Aggressive Behavior · doi:10.1002/1098-2337(1994)20:1 · Cited by 44
Plasma‐Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition of Silicon Dioxide Using Tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS)
Emesh, I., D'Asti, G., Mercier, J. S., & Leung, P. (1989) · Journal of The Electrochemical Society · doi:10.1149/1.2096461 · Cited by 44
Are primates behaviorists: Formal dominance, cognition, and free-floating rationales.
Preuschoft, S. (1999) · Journal of comparative psychology · doi:10.1037/0735-7036.113.1.91 · Cited by 30
Kulisch, W. A. M., Lippmann, T., & Kassing, R. (1989) · Thin Solid Films · doi:10.1016/0040-6090(89)90869-9 · Cited by 26
Tompkins, H. G., Grivna, G., Cowden, W. G., & Leathersich, C. (1991) · Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures Processing Measurement and Phenomena · doi:10.1116/1.585640 · Cited by 4
Collisional Detachment of Anions Using Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry.
Riehl, K. (1992) · Cited by 1
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Matsumoto, 1988, Japanese and Caucasian facial expressions of emotion (JACFEE)
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The functional basis of face evaluation
Oosterhof, N. N., & Todorov, A. (2008) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0805664105 · Cited by 1,819
Approach and avoidance in fear of spiders
Rinck, M., & Becker, E. S. (2006) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2006.10.001 · Cited by 706
Expressing fear enhances sensory acquisition.
Susskind, J. M., Lee, D. H., Cusi, A., Feiman, R., Grabski, W., & Anderson, A. K. (2008) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn.2138 · Cited by 595
Social Psychological Face Perception: Why Appearance Matters
Zebrowitz, L. A., & Montepare, J. M. (2008) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2008.00109.x · Cited by 672
Welpe, I. M., Spörrle, M., Grichnik, D., Michl, T., & Audretsch, D. B. (2011) · Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice · doi:10.1111/j.1540-6520.2011.00481.x · Cited by 445
Metadata
- Authors
- Marsh, A. A., Ambady, N., & Kleck, R. E.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- ORCID
- Marsh, Abigail A.
- Venue
- Emotion
- Published
- 2005
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 119-124
- ISSN
- 1528-3542 (ISSN-L)
- 1931-1516
- OpenAlex
- W2151849583
- Cited by
- 588
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 44 · 2023: 37 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 45 · 2018: 32 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 30 · 2015: 45 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 26 · 2012: 25
- FWCI
- 6.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Emotion (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
- Keywords
- facial expressions, fear expression, anger expression, approach behavior, avoidance behavior, threat perception, social signals
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Anger, Avoidance Learning, Facial Expression, Fear, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Psychomotor Performance, Reaction Time, Sex Factors, Social Perception
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
