Interaction between facial expression and color

Facial color varies depending on emotional state, and emotions are often described in relation to facial color. In this study, we investigated whether the recognition of facial expressions was affected by facial color and vice versa. In the facial expression task, expression morph continua were employed: fear-anger and sadness-happiness. The morphed faces were presented in three different facial colors (bluish, neutral, and reddish color). Participants identified a facial expression between the two endpoints (e.g., fear or anger) regardless of its facial color. The results showed that the perception of facial expression was influenced by facial color. In the fear-anger morphs, intermediate morphs of reddish-colored and bluish colored faces had a greater tendency to be identified as angry faces and fearful faces, respectively. In the facial color task, two bluish-to-reddish colored face continua were presented in three different facial expressions (fear-neutral-anger and sadness-neutral-happiness). Participants judged whether the facial color was reddish or bluish regardless of its expression. The faces with sad expression tended to be identified as more bluish, while the faces with other expressions did not affect facial color judgment. These results suggest that an interactive but disproportionate relationship exists between facial color and expression in face perception.