Separate and combined effects of facial expressions and bodily postures onemotional feelings

The results of numerous experimental studies have provided ample evidence f or William James' theory that emotional conduct is a sufficient condition f or the occurrence of emotional feelings. Two further questions are addresse d in the study reported in this paper. First, critics have speculated that the effects of peripheral feedback from expressive bodily movement may lead to generalized diffuse pleasant or unpleasant experiences, rather than the specific emotional feelings consistent with James' position. Second if the Jamesian account is correct, then the simultaneous combination of multiple , consistent solaces of expressive bodily feedback should result in greater magnitudes of emotional response than those caused by separate, individual sources. The results of the present study replicate those of the only othe r study (Duclos et al., 1989) which has demonstrated specific effects of ex pressive behaviors on corresponding emotional feelings. It was also possibl e to demonstrate, via correlational analyses, that those people who are res ponsive to their expressions tend to be responsive to their postures as wel l, since subjects in this study received manipulations of their facial expr essions mid their bodily, postures. The results of this study also indicate that matching combinations of facial expressions and bodily postures resul t in more powerful feelings of the corresponding emotional feelings than do either expressions or postures alone. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons , Ltd.