The recognition of happiness in the eyes: Is there a “Language of the Eyes”?

Abstract

The ability to interpret emotional cues has been argued to play an important role in maintaining successful relationships and healthy psychological functioning. Here, we focus on the comprehension of emotional expressions in the eyes. The ability to recognize complex emotions and mental states from the eyes relates to the ‘theory of mind’. This study investigates the judgment of happy expressions in the eyes. We created a composite stimulus by combining the region of the eyes from faces expressing one emotion (i.e., neutral) with parts from other faces expressing different emotions (i.e., happiness). The results suggest that the recognition of pleasure in the eyes is influenced not only by the eye region but also by other facial areas; a hallmark of holistic face processing. This effect was particularly noticeable for the the mouth area of the face.