Body movement stimuli
Atkinson, A.P., Dittrich, W.H., Gemmell, A.J., & Young, A.W. (2004). Emotion perception from dynamic and static body expressions in point-light and full-light displays. Perception, 33, 717-746. [Click here for pdf.]
Click here for an example point-light body expression of emotion used in this study (a QuickTime movie file).
For a subsequent study that employed slightly modified versions of
these stimuli, see:
Atkinson, A.P., Tunstall, M.L.,
& Dittrich, W.H. (2007). Evidence for distinct contributions
of form and motion information to the recognition of emotions from body
gestures. Cognition, 104,
59-72. [Click here to read the abstract.]
This latter study examined the
effects on emotion recognition of inverting the whole-body emotional
gestures and/ or reversing the direction of their motion. Click on the
following links for example stimuli used in this study (QuickTime movie
files):
Example patch-light displays
Upright,
forward
fear Upright,
reversed fear
Inverted, forward
fear Inverted,
reversed fear
Upright, forward anger
(1) Upright,
forward anger (2)
Upright, forward
disgust (1) Upright,
forward
disgust
(2)
Upright,
forward fear (1) Upright,
forward fear (2)
Upright, forward
happiness (1) Upright,
forward
happiness
(2)
Upright, forward sadness (1) Upright, forward sadness (2)
Example full-light displays
Upright,
forward
fear Upright,
reversed fear
Inverted, forward
fear Inverted,
reversed fear
More recently (2008-09), we have developed 'proper' point-light versions of these stimuli, which we are currently using in several studies. To create these latest stimuli, we tracked from frame to frame the x-y coordinates of the centre of the patches in the patch-light displays, and then created images consisting of small dots at each recorded x-y coordinate. Thanks to Dr. Hannah Smithson and Craig Douglas. Click here to see an example movie clip.
Links:
Back to Anthony Atkinson's homepage
Department of
Psychology, Durham University
Durham University
