The Face in the Crowd Effect (Pros & Cons)
The Good & Bad of the Anger Superiority Effect through an Evolutionary Lens
Context:
When we are chronically stressed, we notice angry faces quicker than regular ones. [i] It should be noted that we already give privileged attention to threatening faces [ii] [iii] [iv] — a concept first presented by Christine and Ranald Hansen in 1988[v] — even if the faces are inverted! [vi] It should be noted, too, that we also generally give more attention to threatening stimuli over non-threatening stimuli. [vii] All of this is called The Face in the Crowd Effect (also known as The Anger Superiority Effect).
Beneficial Use:
What a critically useful adaptation for someone in the middle of a physical confrontation! From a battlefield to a school fight, from a bar room brawl to a game of rugby (where presumably the opposition is trying to crush you), this quality allows us to quickly identify potential threats while glossing over the non-threats around us. The key here is that skipping non-threats is a form of attention conservation, saving it for things that could — at least in our perception — posing us a risk for bodily harm.
This trait can be useful beyond protecting us against physical threats, too, especially considering that we even detect changes in angry faces quicker than non-angry faces. [viii] Whether you are giving a speech at a wedding or a presentation at a board meeting, being able to detect negative emotions quickly is obviously helpful. Without this trait — this critical social cue — you might unknowingly put the wedding in jeopardy and earn the ire of your work colleagues.
Detrimental Misuse:
What if we aren’t at all in a threatening or tense situation? What if we are simply stressed on our way to work? Then, we must consider Albert Bandura’s theory of Reciprocal Determinism — where our thoughts and behaviors and environments mutually actualize each other. [ix]
If our thoughts are hostile, we are more prone to detecting the hostilities of our environment — an act that will justify, reinforce, and exacerbate our hostile behaviors. If we behave in a hostile way, it’s likely our environment will react with hostility, and so the downward spiral spins!
Furthermore, it is important to remember that everything is a trade-off. While our reaction time is quickened in our stressed state, it also comes with a decreased accuracy. [x] [xi] In other words, we might misconstrue a face to be angry, when it just looks that way. We all know at least one person who naturally has an uninviting expression.
Acceptance:
Perhaps the key then, perhaps too simply, is to recognize when we are stressed, and take moments to recalibrate before entering a new environment. If we can at least temporarily destress ourselves — perhaps through mindfulness (which has shown much promise [xii]), sublimation (converting your negative emotions into art or something productive), or temporarily checking-out of the situation — we might be able to stop a bad morning from becoming a horrible week.
Of course, the last thing we want to hear when we’re stressed or feeling threatened is that we should relax. That is why we must proactively understand the times in which we feel tense, prepare with this knowledge of the Face in the Crowd Effect, and be prepared with methods to reset ourselves.
(For more information on how to proactively prepare for common stressors, consider learning about the ‘ABCs of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy’ [article coming soon].)
[i] Japee, S., Crocker, L., Carver, F., Pessoa, L., & Ungerleider, L. G. (2009). Individual differences in valence modulation of face-selective m170 response. Emotion, 9(1), 59–69. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014487
[ii] Fox E, Lester V, Russo R, Bowles RJ, Pichler A, Dutton K. Facial Expressions of Emotion: Are Angry Faces Detected More Efficiently?. Cogn Emot. 2000;14(1):61–92. doi:10.1080/026999300378996
[iii] Pinkham AE, Griffin M, Baron R, Sasson NJ, Gur RC. The face in the crowd effect: anger superiority when using real faces and multiple identities. Emotion. 2010 Feb;10(1):141–6. doi: 10.1037/a0017387. PMID: 20141311.
[iv] Öhman, A., Lundqvist, D., & Esteves, F. (2001). The face in the crowd revisited: a threat advantage with schematic stimuli. Journal of personality and social psychology, 80(3), 381.
[v] Hansen, C. H., & Hansen, R. D. (1988). Finding the face in the crowd: An anger superiority effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 917–924. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.917
[vi] Doty TJ, Japee S, Ingvar M, Ungerleider LG. Fearful face detection sensitivity in healthy adults correlates with anxiety-related traits. Emotion. 2013 Apr;13(2):183–8. doi: 10.1037/a0031373. Epub 2013 Feb 11. PMID: 23398584; PMCID: PMC3932706.
[vii] Öhman, A., Flykt, A., & Esteves, F. (2001a). Emotion drives attention: Detecting the snake in the grass. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130(3), 466–478.
[viii] Rued, H. A., Hilmert, C. J., Strahm, A. M., & Thomas, L. E. (2019). The influence of stress on attentional bias to threat: An angry face and a noisy crowd. Psychonomic bulletin & review, 26(3), 943–950.
[ix] Bandura, A. (1978). The self system in reciprocal determinism. American psychologist, 33(4), 344.
[x] Eysenck, M. W., Derakshan, N., Santos, R., & Calvo, M. G. (2007). Anxiety and cognitive performance: Attentional control theory. Emotion, 7(2), 336–353.
[xi] Rued, H. A., Hilmert, C. J., Strahm, A. M., & Thomas, L. E. (2019). The influence of stress on attentional bias to threat: An angry face and a noisy crowd. Psychonomic bulletin & review, 26(3), 943–950.
[xii] Carmody, J., & Baer, R. A. (2008). Relationships between mindfulness practice and levels of mindfulness, medical and psychological symptoms and well-being in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program. Journal of behavioral medicine, 31(1), 23–33.
