Psychopathic traits alter facial expression of posed and spontaneous smiles, and associated emotional experience

Antonietta Chaliou; Lynden Miles; Bert Timmermans

doi:10.1016/j.paid.2026.113752

Psychopathic traits alter facial expression of posed and spontaneous smiles, and associated emotional experience

Antonietta Chaliou^*
, Lynden Miles
, Bert Timmermans

^*Corresponding author for this work

Psychology

University of Western Australia

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Smiles, as tools for social exchange, rely on both accurate expression and interpretation of emotions. While psychopathy's affective deficits are known, their effect on smiling remains unclear. This study investigates the link between psychopathic traits and facial activity in posed and spontaneous smiling, by assessing the impact on both the expression and of emotion. Employing computer vision (OpenFace) and subjective ratings, we examined smile characteristics (intensity, duration) and emotional experience (valence, arousal) in a sample of 102 individuals who viewed emotionally neutral (control condition) and affective stimuli (spontaneous condition), and received instructions based on imaginary smile-related scenarios (posed condition). Results showed that higher psychopathic trait scores (particularly traits related to affective deficits) were associated with: (1) spontaneous smiles that were longer and more intense, despite being (2) associated with lower self-reported valence, (3) posed smiles that were shorter and less intense, and (4) overall increased self-reported arousal. These findings suggest a nuanced interplay between subclinical variation in psychopathic traits, smiling behaviour, and emotional experience. These findings offer valuable preliminary insights into the potential mechanisms underpinning social functioning in individuals with psychopathic traits.

Original language	English
Article number	113752
Number of pages	8
Journal	Personality and Individual Differences
Volume	257
Early online date	3 Mar 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2026.113752
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 3 Mar 2026

Bibliographical note

Open Access via the Elsevier agreement

The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to Ana Marinic, Barbara Békés, Bethany Irish, Rita Rizk, Lisa Nguyen, Mayte Van Den Broeck, Chloe Crozier, and Morgan Bicket for their invaluable assistance in data collection, and to all the participants whose contributions made this study possible.

Data Availability Statement

Data will be made available on request.

Funding

This research was self-funded by the author(s). No external funding was received from public, commercial, or not-for-profit agencies.

Keywords

Emotion
Smiles
Psychopathic traits
OpenFace

Access to Document

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Chaliou_etal_PID_Psychopathic_Traits_Alter_VOR
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Final published version, 2.09 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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abstract = "Smiles, as tools for social exchange, rely on both accurate expression and interpretation of emotions. While psychopathy's affective deficits are known, their effect on smiling remains unclear. This study investigates the link between psychopathic traits and facial activity in posed and spontaneous smiling, by assessing the impact on both the expression and of emotion. Employing computer vision (OpenFace) and subjective ratings, we examined smile characteristics (intensity, duration) and emotional experience (valence, arousal) in a sample of 102 individuals who viewed emotionally neutral (control condition) and affective stimuli (spontaneous condition), and received instructions based on imaginary smile-related scenarios (posed condition). Results showed that higher psychopathic trait scores (particularly traits related to affective deficits) were associated with: (1) spontaneous smiles that were longer and more intense, despite being (2) associated with lower self-reported valence, (3) posed smiles that were shorter and less intense, and (4) overall increased self-reported arousal. These findings suggest a nuanced interplay between subclinical variation in psychopathic traits, smiling behaviour, and emotional experience. These findings offer valuable preliminary insights into the potential mechanisms underpinning social functioning in individuals with psychopathic traits.",

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author = "Antonietta Chaliou and Lynden Miles and Bert Timmermans",

note = "Open Access via the Elsevier agreement The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to Ana Marinic, Barbara B{\'e}k{\'e}s, Bethany Irish, Rita Rizk, Lisa Nguyen, Mayte Van Den Broeck, Chloe Crozier, and Morgan Bicket for their invaluable assistance in data collection, and to all the participants whose contributions made this study possible.",

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AU - Chaliou, Antonietta

AU - Miles, Lynden

AU - Timmermans, Bert

N1 - Open Access via the Elsevier agreement The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to Ana Marinic, Barbara Békés, Bethany Irish, Rita Rizk, Lisa Nguyen, Mayte Van Den Broeck, Chloe Crozier, and Morgan Bicket for their invaluable assistance in data collection, and to all the participants whose contributions made this study possible.

PY - 2026/3/3

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N2 - Smiles, as tools for social exchange, rely on both accurate expression and interpretation of emotions. While psychopathy's affective deficits are known, their effect on smiling remains unclear. This study investigates the link between psychopathic traits and facial activity in posed and spontaneous smiling, by assessing the impact on both the expression and of emotion. Employing computer vision (OpenFace) and subjective ratings, we examined smile characteristics (intensity, duration) and emotional experience (valence, arousal) in a sample of 102 individuals who viewed emotionally neutral (control condition) and affective stimuli (spontaneous condition), and received instructions based on imaginary smile-related scenarios (posed condition). Results showed that higher psychopathic trait scores (particularly traits related to affective deficits) were associated with: (1) spontaneous smiles that were longer and more intense, despite being (2) associated with lower self-reported valence, (3) posed smiles that were shorter and less intense, and (4) overall increased self-reported arousal. These findings suggest a nuanced interplay between subclinical variation in psychopathic traits, smiling behaviour, and emotional experience. These findings offer valuable preliminary insights into the potential mechanisms underpinning social functioning in individuals with psychopathic traits.

AB - Smiles, as tools for social exchange, rely on both accurate expression and interpretation of emotions. While psychopathy's affective deficits are known, their effect on smiling remains unclear. This study investigates the link between psychopathic traits and facial activity in posed and spontaneous smiling, by assessing the impact on both the expression and of emotion. Employing computer vision (OpenFace) and subjective ratings, we examined smile characteristics (intensity, duration) and emotional experience (valence, arousal) in a sample of 102 individuals who viewed emotionally neutral (control condition) and affective stimuli (spontaneous condition), and received instructions based on imaginary smile-related scenarios (posed condition). Results showed that higher psychopathic trait scores (particularly traits related to affective deficits) were associated with: (1) spontaneous smiles that were longer and more intense, despite being (2) associated with lower self-reported valence, (3) posed smiles that were shorter and less intense, and (4) overall increased self-reported arousal. These findings suggest a nuanced interplay between subclinical variation in psychopathic traits, smiling behaviour, and emotional experience. These findings offer valuable preliminary insights into the potential mechanisms underpinning social functioning in individuals with psychopathic traits.

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DO - 10.1016/j.paid.2026.113752

M3 - Article

SN - 0191-8869

VL - 257

JO - Personality and Individual Differences

JF - Personality and Individual Differences

M1 - 113752

ER -

Psychopathic traits alter facial expression of posed and spontaneous smiles, and associated emotional experience

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Availability Statement

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

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