Sex differences in asymmetrically perceiving the intensity of facial expressions

Emotional facial expressions are often asymmetrical, with the left half of the face typically displaying the stronger affective intensity cues. During facial perception, however, most right-handed individuals are biased towar d facial affect cues projecting to their own left Visual hemifield. Consequ ently, mirror-reversed faces are typically rated as more emotionally intens e than when presented normally. Mirror-reversal permits the most intense si de of the expresser's face to project to the visual hemifield biased for pr ocessing facial affect cues. This study replicated the mirror-reversal effe ct in 21 men and 49 women (aged 18-52 yr.) using a videotaped free viewing presentation but also showed the effect of facial orientation is moderated by the sex of the perceiver. The mirror-reversal effect was significant onl y for men but not for women, suggesting possible sex differences in cerebra l organization of systems for facial perception.