Facial Width-to-Height Ratio as a Cue of Threat: An Initial Event-Related Potential Study

Petri Kajonius; Hans Eldblom

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11

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Facial Width-to-Height Ratio as a Cue of Threat: An Initial Event-Related Potential Study

Petri Kajonius, Hans Eldblom

Published in International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences (Volume 5, Issue 1)

Received: 2 January 2019 Accepted: 23 December 2019 Published: 4 January 2020

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Abstract

The background for the present study is that facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) is suggested to function as an evolutionary cue for threatening behavior such as perceived aggression. With a novel approach, in this pilot study, we explored whether fWHR can be detected in observers’ brain responses measured by event-related potentials (ERP), specifically, the Late Positive Potential (LPP) component (400-3000ms after stimuli onset). The hypothesis was that faces with a high fWHR would elicit a larger LPP amplitude than faces with a low fWHR. The results showed that faces with high fWHRs were indeed perceived as more aggressive and elicited significantly greater LPP amplitudes. The conclusion lends initial support to fWHR serving as a facial cue with evolutionary relevance. We caution that future full-length studies need to take the current small-scale study’s limitations into consideration.

Published in	International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences (Volume 5, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11
Page(s)	1-4
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Facial Width-to-Height Ratio, Aggression, ERP, LPP, fWHR

References

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[15]	Blanchard, D. C., Griebel, G., Pobbe, R., & Blanchard, R. J. (2011). Risk assessment as an evolved threat detection and analysis process. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 35 (4), 991-998.279.
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APA Style

Petri Kajonius, Hans Eldblom. (2020). Facial Width-to-Height Ratio as a Cue of Threat: An Initial Event-Related Potential Study. International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 5(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11

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ACS Style

Petri Kajonius; Hans Eldblom. Facial Width-to-Height Ratio as a Cue of Threat: An Initial Event-Related Potential Study. Int. J. Psychol. Brain Sci. 2020, 5(1), 1-4. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11

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AMA Style

Petri Kajonius, Hans Eldblom. Facial Width-to-Height Ratio as a Cue of Threat: An Initial Event-Related Potential Study. Int J Psychol Brain Sci. 2020;5(1):1-4. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11,
  author = {Petri Kajonius and Hans Eldblom},
  title = {Facial Width-to-Height Ratio as a Cue of Threat: An Initial Event-Related Potential Study},
  journal = {International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences},
  volume = {5},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-4},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijpbs.20200501.11},
  abstract = {The background for the present study is that facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) is suggested to function as an evolutionary cue for threatening behavior such as perceived aggression. With a novel approach, in this pilot study, we explored whether fWHR can be detected in observers’ brain responses measured by event-related potentials (ERP), specifically, the Late Positive Potential (LPP) component (400-3000ms after stimuli onset). The hypothesis was that faces with a high fWHR would elicit a larger LPP amplitude than faces with a low fWHR. The results showed that faces with high fWHRs were indeed perceived as more aggressive and elicited significantly greater LPP amplitudes. The conclusion lends initial support to fWHR serving as a facial cue with evolutionary relevance. We caution that future full-length studies need to take the current small-scale study’s limitations into consideration.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Facial Width-to-Height Ratio as a Cue of Threat: An Initial Event-Related Potential Study
AU  - Petri Kajonius
AU  - Hans Eldblom
Y1  - 2020/01/04
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11
T2  - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
SP  - 1
EP  - 4
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1573
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11
AB  - The background for the present study is that facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) is suggested to function as an evolutionary cue for threatening behavior such as perceived aggression. With a novel approach, in this pilot study, we explored whether fWHR can be detected in observers’ brain responses measured by event-related potentials (ERP), specifically, the Late Positive Potential (LPP) component (400-3000ms after stimuli onset). The hypothesis was that faces with a high fWHR would elicit a larger LPP amplitude than faces with a low fWHR. The results showed that faces with high fWHRs were indeed perceived as more aggressive and elicited significantly greater LPP amplitudes. The conclusion lends initial support to fWHR serving as a facial cue with evolutionary relevance. We caution that future full-length studies need to take the current small-scale study’s limitations into consideration.
VL  - 5
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Author Information

Petri Kajonius

Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Skovde, Skovde, Sweden
Hans Eldblom

Department of Behavioural Science, University West, Trollhattan, Sweden

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APA Style

Petri Kajonius, Hans Eldblom. (2020). Facial Width-to-Height Ratio as a Cue of Threat: An Initial Event-Related Potential Study. International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 5(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11

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ACS Style

Petri Kajonius; Hans Eldblom. Facial Width-to-Height Ratio as a Cue of Threat: An Initial Event-Related Potential Study. Int. J. Psychol. Brain Sci. 2020, 5(1), 1-4. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11

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AMA Style

Petri Kajonius, Hans Eldblom. Facial Width-to-Height Ratio as a Cue of Threat: An Initial Event-Related Potential Study. Int J Psychol Brain Sci. 2020;5(1):1-4. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11,
  author = {Petri Kajonius and Hans Eldblom},
  title = {Facial Width-to-Height Ratio as a Cue of Threat: An Initial Event-Related Potential Study},
  journal = {International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences},
  volume = {5},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-4},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijpbs.20200501.11},
  abstract = {The background for the present study is that facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) is suggested to function as an evolutionary cue for threatening behavior such as perceived aggression. With a novel approach, in this pilot study, we explored whether fWHR can be detected in observers’ brain responses measured by event-related potentials (ERP), specifically, the Late Positive Potential (LPP) component (400-3000ms after stimuli onset). The hypothesis was that faces with a high fWHR would elicit a larger LPP amplitude than faces with a low fWHR. The results showed that faces with high fWHRs were indeed perceived as more aggressive and elicited significantly greater LPP amplitudes. The conclusion lends initial support to fWHR serving as a facial cue with evolutionary relevance. We caution that future full-length studies need to take the current small-scale study’s limitations into consideration.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Facial Width-to-Height Ratio as a Cue of Threat: An Initial Event-Related Potential Study
AU  - Petri Kajonius
AU  - Hans Eldblom
Y1  - 2020/01/04
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11
T2  - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
SP  - 1
EP  - 4
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1573
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200501.11
AB  - The background for the present study is that facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) is suggested to function as an evolutionary cue for threatening behavior such as perceived aggression. With a novel approach, in this pilot study, we explored whether fWHR can be detected in observers’ brain responses measured by event-related potentials (ERP), specifically, the Late Positive Potential (LPP) component (400-3000ms after stimuli onset). The hypothesis was that faces with a high fWHR would elicit a larger LPP amplitude than faces with a low fWHR. The results showed that faces with high fWHRs were indeed perceived as more aggressive and elicited significantly greater LPP amplitudes. The conclusion lends initial support to fWHR serving as a facial cue with evolutionary relevance. We caution that future full-length studies need to take the current small-scale study’s limitations into consideration.
VL  - 5
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download