The Noh mask effect: vertical viewpoint dependence of facial expression perception
Full-face masks, worn by skilled actors in the Noh tradition, can induce a variety of perceived expressions with changes in head orientation. Out-of-plane rotation of the head changes the two-dimensional image characteristics of the face which viewers may misinterpret as non-rigid changes due to mus...
Saved in:
Published in | Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Vol. 267; no. 1459; pp. 2239 - 2245 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
England
The Royal Society
22.11.2000
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | Full-face masks, worn by skilled actors in the Noh tradition, can induce a variety of perceived expressions with changes in head orientation. Out-of-plane rotation of the head changes the two-dimensional image characteristics of the face which viewers may misinterpret as non-rigid changes due to muscle action. Three experiments with Japanese and British viewers explored this effect. Experiment 1 confirmed a systematic relationship between vertical angle of view of a Noh mask and judged affect. A forward tilted mask was more often judged happy, and one backward tilted more often judged sad. This effect was moderated by culture. Japanese viewers ascribed happiness to the mask at greater degrees of backward tilt with a reversal towards sadness at extreme forward angles. Cropping the facial image of chin and upper head contour reduced the forward-tilt reversal. Finally, the relationship between head tilt and affect was replicated with a laser-scanned human face image, but with no cultural effect. Vertical orientation of the head changes the apparent disposition of facial features and viewers respond systematically to these changes. Culture moderates this effect, and we discuss how perceptual strategies for ascribing expression to familiar and unfamiliar images may account for the differences. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ark:/67375/V84-TSKCLH8M-X istex:C1CAA1DF532202FD1C1B441F70EBE357372F3991 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0962-8452 1471-2954 |
DOI: | 10.1098/rspb.2000.1274 |