Emotions play a key role in cognition, motivation, identity processes and social interactions. Yet, there is little research on how emotions unfold over the course of interaction. This void stems from a shortage of techniques that are unobtrusive and that reliably and validly measure emotions, rather than a void in theoretical development. In fact, recent theoretical advances suggest the importance of studying emotional transitions and make clear predictions about emotion sequencing. The current research tests the prediction that certain emotional transitions are affectively easier to make than others, suggesting that there are "optimal" paths of transformation that connect various emotional states. For any two emotions, these optimal paths specify the intermediary feeling states that ideally connect them, making it easier to move between them by transitioning through these intermediary states. The current research refines and validates the use of infrared thermography for measuring regional changes in facial temperature to discriminate different emotional states and then employs this technique to test theoretically derived hypotheses about the sequencing of emotions in social interaction. Initial experiments address how the relative temperature of specified regions of the face can be used to measure the three core dimensions of emotion: affect, potency, and activity. These experiments develop thermographic procedures for differentiating (1) positive and negative affect; (2) energized and relaxed affect; and (3) strong and weak affect. Subsequent experiments use these new techniques to measure changes in emotional states during on-going interaction, testing theoretical predictions about the sequencing of emotions that individuals experience when moving from one emotion state to another.
The project will advance theoretical knowledge about emotions in social interactions by testing dynamic models in temporally sensitive and non-reactive ways. This theoretical knowledge has potential applications in clinical settings, educational arenas, and the workplace. Further, the measurement techniques refined by this project hold promise for the study of emotions in a wide-variety of social settings. Finally, this project provides direct educational and mentoring opportunities for a diverse and interdisciplinary set of graduate and undergraduate researchers who serve as members of the project team.
