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Background: Children with Asperger’s Syndrome have deficits in daily social communication and pragmatic skills of varying degrees. A lack of appropriate use of eye contact during communication is a well-described marker of the social-pragmatic deficit that is characteristic of children with Asperger’s Syndrome. This study investigated the effectiveness of a combined therapy approach including social stories, video-modelling and computers to address the impaired eye contact. Method: Five participants, between the ages of 6-12 years, with a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome took part. A multiple single subject ABAB design was applied for the purpose of this study. Results: There was an overall improvement in eye contact across all five participants. Other pragmatic behaviours were also positively affected. Conclusions: A combined type of intervention may be used effectively to improve the non-verbal social skills, specifically eye contact, in children with Asperger’s Syndrome. Clinical and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.

Theories of embodiment propose that our bodily states can influence affective processing. This thesis investigated the possibility that facial feedback (i.e., afferent signals from facial muscles) can influence the interpretation of affective stimuli. One study tested the effect of overt smiling and frowning on the interpretation of short descriptions of everyday events. Smiling, as compared to frowning, led to more positive evaluations, but only for participants who were aware of the emotional relevance of their expressions. A second study tested whether subtle changes in facial activation (elicited by unconsciously presented happy/angry facial expressions) led to changes in evaluations of ambiguous target symbols. While angry prime faces, as compared to happy prime faces, induced more frowning (as measured via electromyography), this change in facial activation did not translate into a behavioural effect on subsequent evaluations. A third study investigated the relation between naturally occurring facial reactions and interpretations of both clearly valenced and ambiguous facial expressions. Results indicate that facial reactivity predicts participants' self-reports of their own emotional reactions towards others' expressions (Experiment 1). A relation between facial reactions and interpretations of the expression senders' emotional states was only found in cases in which participants with high sensitivity towards their own bodily states (as measured with a test of interoceptive accuracy) tried to interpret ambiguous expressions (Experiment 2). In a last experiment, prolonged presentation of emotional prime faces led to expression-congruent facial reactions, but resulted in expression-incongruent behavioural reactions in both classification speed and interpretative tendency of emotional target faces. Overall, this thesis suggests that facial feedback is not generally involved in the interpretation of affective stimuli, but that it might contribute to evaluative processes only under special circumstances.

Though human nonverbal vocalisations are widespread, scientific consideration of their mechanisms and communicative functions has been largely overlooked. This is despite their close alignment with the vocal communicative systems of primates and other mammals, whose primary function is to signal indexical information relevant to sexual and natural selection processes. In this thesis, I examine human nonverbal vocalisations from an evolutionary perspective, with the central hypothesis that they are functionally and structurally homologous to nonhuman mammal calls, communicating evolutionarily relevant indexical information that is perceived and utilised by listeners. In Chapter 1, I introduce the methodological framework (source-filter theory) necessary to understand the production of vocal signals in mammals, before summarising the information contained within the acoustic structure of nonhuman mammals and human speech, and the effects these cues have on both vocaliser and listener. I then examine the current evidence for functional and structural homology between human and nonhuman nonverbal vocalisations. In Chapters 2 to 5, I quantitatively analyse the acoustic structure of a number of nonverbal vocalisations, and perform playback experiments to examine their functional effects on listeners. In Chapters 2 and 3, I investigate whether aggressive roars and distress screams communicate acoustic cues to absolute and relative strength and height. In Chapter 4, I analyse the acoustic structure of pain cries of varying intensity, and conduct playback experiments to explore the acoustic and perceptual correlates of pain. In Chapter 5, I examine whether the fundamental frequency of tennis grunts produced during professional tennis matches is dependent on the sex and body posture of the vocaliser, as well as the progress and outcome of the contest, and whether listeners can infer these cues. In Chapter 6, I tie these findings together, arguing that the acoustic structure of human nonverbal vocalisations, in continuity with nonhuman mammal vocalisations, has been selected to support the functional communication of indexical and motivational information.

Nos travaux de thèse prolongent une série d'études consacrées aux effets du contact visuel sur la gestion des ressources attentionnelles. Six expériences testent l'effet distracteur d'un contact visuel bref ou prolongé dans un dispositif adapté de la tâche de Stroop (« Stroop Eyes » ; cf. Conty, Gimmig, Belletier, George, & Huguet, 2010) impliquant de façon concomitante des distracteurs sémantiques (mots incongruents) et des distracteurs sociaux (yeux ouverts en modalité de regard direct ou dévié, et yeux clos). L'objectif principal est d'évaluer le coût du contact visuel (enclenché par le regard direct) en matière de ressources exécutives, ce coût étant éventuellement impliqué dans les pathologies du lien social (autisme et schizophrénie). Des analyses classiques et distributionnelles des temps de réponse indiquent en particulier que le regard direct 1) est traité de manière automatique quelle que soit sa durée d'apparition, 2) consomme des ressources exécutives, et 3) facilite le traitement du regard dévié. Ces résultats renforcent les modèles du contact visuel suggérant un module cérébral spécifiquement dédié à la détection du regard direct et une influence de cette détection sur des processus cognitifs opérant en parallèle ou de manière consécutive. Les domaines d'application sont vastes puisque l'humain exécute souvent ses activités en présence d'autres susceptibles de l'observer. Par ailleurs, les liens entre contacts visuels et ressources exécutives mis en évidence dans nos travaux suggèrent des pistes pour remédier à certaines des difficultés des personnes souffrant d'une pathologie du lien social. / Our thesis extends a serie of studies on the effects of eye contact on the management of attentional resources. Six experiments tested the distracting effects of a brief versus sustained eye contact with an adaptation of the Stroop task (referred to as "Stroop Eyes" ; cf Conty, Gimmig, Belletier, George, & Huguet, 2010) involving concomitantly semantic distractors (incongruent words) and social distractors (direct gaze vs. averted gaze, and closed eyes). The main objective was to evaluate the cost of eye contact (initiated by direct gaze) on executive resources, this cost being possibly involved in pathologies such as autism and schizophrenia. Classic response time analyses and distributional response time analyses indicate that direct gaze 1) is processed automatically whatever its duration, 2) consumes executive resources, and 3) facilitates the processing of averted gaze. These results strengthen the models suggesting a modular (brain) network dedicated to the detection of direct gaze and related modulations of cognitive processes operating in parallel or consecutively. As humans perform the majority of their activities while being watched by others, the fields of application are vast. Furthermore, the links between eye contact and executive resources highlighted in our work suggests ways to address the management of people with specific social disabilities.

Today, video communication is common in private and professional communication, and during corona pandemic 2020, its use has increased significantly. This has raised the issue on the fact that video communication is not as perceived as natural as a face-to-face conversation, and the lack of eye contact can be a contributing cause. This study has developed and evaluated a video communication design where it was possible for users to have eye contact. It was also possible to manipulate the camera position. The aim of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of the design in research on eye contact, which gave the opportunity to also investigate how this affects the experience of the conversation. The study also investigated how the self-view affects experience of conversations. Twelve persons participated in the study. After a relaxed conversation, a semi-structured interview was conducted on how they experienced the different camera angles. The participants eye movements were also recorded. The result shows a significant and consistent perceived difference between different camera positions. The usual camera position with 15° decentration felt familiar and the extreme decentration of 45° position felt unreal and abnormal. When given the opportunity for eye contact, the participants felt significantly more present in the conversation with increased sense of reality. The Self-view was perceived as an obstacle to feel present, but gave a sense of control. These results are discussed in relation to the need to adapt video communication to social processes and its biological origin, e.g. the eyes function for we-ness and the implication of seeing oneself during conversations.

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Bien que la perception et l’interprétation des expressions faciales soient critiques pour notre vie sociale, leurs mécanismes restent largement incompris. Le but de ma thèse a été d’essayer de comprendre ces processus en analysant le sourire, qui est la plus complexe des expressions.Dans une série de 9 études, nous avons examiné le rôle du contact visuel et du mimétisme facial dans la perception des sourires. Les résultats d’une première série d’études (Chapitre 2) ont révélé que les sourires accompagnés du contact visuel ont plus d’impact émotionnel et sont plus imités par les observateurs que les sourires sans échange de regards. De plus, les études que nous avons réalisées auprès des enfants et d’adultes (Chapitre 3) révèlent que le mimétisme facial est effectivement important non seulement pour un jugement correct de l’authenticité des sourires, mais aussi pour le développement des compétences émotionnelles en général. Afin d’estimer les effets du mimétisme facial, il est important de mieux comprendre les expressions faciales que l’on imite. Dans une deuxième série d’études (Chapitre 4) nous avons donc cherché à regarder les différentes fonctions de sourire en validant une typologie fonctionnelle des sourires, ceux de joie, d’affiliation et de domination. Les résultats montrent que l’usage de ces sourires dans 9 pays, ainsi que les normes gouvernant l’expressivité faciale dans 31 pays peuvent être prédits par l’homogénéité de la population de ces pays à travers les siècles. La morphologie des sourires de joie, d’affiliation et de domination est l’objet des expériences en cours. En somme, ce travail de recherche sur le sourire révèle l’importance de l’expérience corporelle et de la simulation des expressions faciales perçues chez l’autre dans l’interaction sociale. / Facial expressions are the core of our social life, but the exact mechanisms underlying their perception and interpretation are yet to be explained. The goal of this dissertation was to use the human smile as a case study in order to shed more light on the processing of facial expression. We first examined the role of eye contact and facial mimicry in the judgments of smiles. The findings revealed that smiles accompanied by eye contact have more emotional impact and elicit more corresponding smiling than smiles accompanied with averted gaze (Chapter 2). Moreover, studies involving children and adult participants (Chapter 3) show that facial mimicry is involved not only in perceptions of smile authenticity but also in the development of general emotional competence. Still, in order to define facial mimicry and explore its effects we need to specify what exactly is mimicked. A second series of studies (Chapter 4) provided initial support for the social-functional typology of reward, affiliative and dominance smiles and showed that the endorsement of these smiles – as well as general expressivity norms – can be predicted by a country’s demographic history, namely the homogeneity of its population over the centuries. The ongoing experiments investigate the morphology and the time course of the three functional smiles. Combined, our findings highlight the role of embodied simulation and bodily experience in the processing of smiles in particular and facial expression in general.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reactions people experienced when engaged in extended eye contact with a stranger. Artist Marina Abramović and an organization entitled The Liberators International have demonstrated a spectrum of reactions, many emotionally-charged, that have occurred from the opportunity to sit across from and gaze into the eyes of a stranger. Current research on eye contact has been predominantly quantitative, with no available research that qualitatively investigates the scenario in focus. The design of this study involved interviewing 35 people who participated in "The World’s Biggest Eye Contact Experiment," where individuals paired with a partner and gazed into each other's eyes for one minute. The data revealed a significant overlap between negative and positive face, where individuals sought out the experience in order to exceed their comfort zones and to foster connections with other people. Participants reported feeling a sense of vulnerability, which was attributed to civil inattention and the simultaneous threat to and expansion of negative face.