Research

We describe our overarching research areas below. Visit our publications page to see what else we do.

Sensorimotor contributions to emotion perception

When people perceive and process the meaning of others' facial expressions, it often activates brain systems responsible for expression production. This sensorimotor simulation contributes to the understanding of the other person's facial expression.

Social functions of smiles and laughter

According to our social functional perspective, smiles and laughter can take different forms to accomplish different social tasks. Smiles and laughter can be rewards to the self and others, affiliation cues that convey non-threatening intentions, and signals of dominance and superiority.

Historical migration patterns shape expressivity

Over the last 500 years, some regions in the world experienced waves of immigration from a variety of source countries, while the populations of other regions have remained relatively stable. This cultural difference, known as historical heterogeneity, explains cultural variability in nonverbal expression.