The contemptuous separation: Facial expressions of emotion and breakups in young adulthood

Saeideh Heshmati; David A. Sbarra; Ashley E. Mason

doi:10.1111/pere.12192

The contemptuous separation: Facial expressions of emotion and breakups in young adulthood

Saeideh Heshmati, David A. Sbarra, Ashley E. Mason

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

The importance of studying specific and expressed emotions after a stressful life event is well known, yet few studies have moved beyond assessing self-reported emotional responses to a romantic breakup. This study examined associations between computer-recognized facial expressions and self-reported breakup-related distress among recently separated college-aged young adults (N = 135; 37 men) on four visits across 9 weeks. Participants' facial expressions were coded using the Computer Expression Recognition Toolbox while participants spoke about their breakups. Of the seven expressed emotions studied, only Contempt showed a unique association with breakup-related distress over time. At baseline, greater Contempt was associated with less breakup-related distress; however, over time, greater Contempt was associated with greater breakup-related distress.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	453-469
Number of pages	17
Journal	Personal Relationships
Volume	24
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12192
State	Published - Jun 2017

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Social Psychology
Anthropology
Developmental and Educational Psychology
Life-span and Life-course Studies

Access to Document

10.1111/pere.12192

Cite this

@article{b3cb4bcfadde431fafc89bb22d4eac46,

title = "The contemptuous separation: Facial expressions of emotion and breakups in young adulthood",

abstract = "The importance of studying specific and expressed emotions after a stressful life event is well known, yet few studies have moved beyond assessing self-reported emotional responses to a romantic breakup. This study examined associations between computer-recognized facial expressions and self-reported breakup-related distress among recently separated college-aged young adults (N = 135; 37 men) on four visits across 9 weeks. Participants' facial expressions were coded using the Computer Expression Recognition Toolbox while participants spoke about their breakups. Of the seven expressed emotions studied, only Contempt showed a unique association with breakup-related distress over time. At baseline, greater Contempt was associated with less breakup-related distress; however, over time, greater Contempt was associated with greater breakup-related distress.",

author = "Saeideh Heshmati and Sbarra, {David A.} and Mason, {Ashley E.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2017 IARR",

year = "2017",

month = jun,

doi = "10.1111/pere.12192",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "24",

pages = "453--469",

journal = "Personal Relationships",

issn = "1350-4126",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",

number = "2",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - The contemptuous separation

T2 - Facial expressions of emotion and breakups in young adulthood

AU - Heshmati, Saeideh

AU - Sbarra, David A.

AU - Mason, Ashley E.

PY - 2017/6

Y1 - 2017/6

N2 - The importance of studying specific and expressed emotions after a stressful life event is well known, yet few studies have moved beyond assessing self-reported emotional responses to a romantic breakup. This study examined associations between computer-recognized facial expressions and self-reported breakup-related distress among recently separated college-aged young adults (N = 135; 37 men) on four visits across 9 weeks. Participants' facial expressions were coded using the Computer Expression Recognition Toolbox while participants spoke about their breakups. Of the seven expressed emotions studied, only Contempt showed a unique association with breakup-related distress over time. At baseline, greater Contempt was associated with less breakup-related distress; however, over time, greater Contempt was associated with greater breakup-related distress.

AB - The importance of studying specific and expressed emotions after a stressful life event is well known, yet few studies have moved beyond assessing self-reported emotional responses to a romantic breakup. This study examined associations between computer-recognized facial expressions and self-reported breakup-related distress among recently separated college-aged young adults (N = 135; 37 men) on four visits across 9 weeks. Participants' facial expressions were coded using the Computer Expression Recognition Toolbox while participants spoke about their breakups. Of the seven expressed emotions studied, only Contempt showed a unique association with breakup-related distress over time. At baseline, greater Contempt was associated with less breakup-related distress; however, over time, greater Contempt was associated with greater breakup-related distress.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85018884154&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85018884154&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/pere.12192

DO - 10.1111/pere.12192

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85018884154

SN - 1350-4126

VL - 24

SP - 453

EP - 469

JO - Personal Relationships

JF - Personal Relationships

IS - 2

ER -

The contemptuous separation: Facial expressions of emotion and breakups in young adulthood

Abstract

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this