Psychological Development and Education ›› 2023, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (3): 313-322.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2023.03.02

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Electrophysiological Evidence for the Lateralized Effect of Lexical Categories on Perception of Facial Expression

ZHONG Weifang1, GUO Yongxing2,3   

  1. 1. Guangdong Justice Police Vocational College, Guangzhou 510520;
    2. DiggMind Psychometric Testing Technology Co., Guangzhou 510000;
    3. Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631
  • Online:2023-05-15 Published:2023-05-13

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Abstract: The current study investigated whether lexical category affects facial expression perception at early, preattentive perceptual processing stage and whether this effect lateralizes to the left hemisphere of the brain. In an ERP study, four gradual facial expression images, including H1, H2, F1 and F2 were used. The expressions of H1 and H2 were happiness, while those of F1 and F2 were fear. Participants were asked to complete a visual oddball task, in which standard and deviant facial expression images from the same or different lexical categories were presented and a facial image displayed angry was presented as an attention-capturing target stimuli. ERPs showed that, in both the time windows of N1 and N2, amplitude of the vMMN evoked by the between-category deviant was larger than that evoked by the within-category deviant when displayed in the right visual field, but no such effect was observed when stimuli were presented in the left visual field. These results suggested that lexical category affects the perception of facial expression at both early, preattentive perceptual processing stages and post-perceptual decision/response phases, and the effect of lexical category on facial expression perception lateralizes to the left hemisphere of the brain.

Key words: Whorf Hypothesis, facial expression, categorical perception, lexical category, event-related potential

CLC Number: 

  • B844
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