Abstract
The impact of John Lanzetta's emotion research on our understanding of the interplay between psychological and physiological processes in emotion is examined. Lanzetta's work in two areas is reviewed along with related work by others. The first area concerns the biological substrates of empathy. Here Lanzetta studied emotional contagion, and in particular the conditions under which viewing another person's emotions can cause expressive and physiological changes in the observer. The second area concerns the facial modulation of emotion. Here Lanzetta studied the capacity of voluntary facial expression to alter the physiological and subjective aspects of emotion. The article closes with a personal reflection on Lanzetta as a scientist and as a person.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ax, A. A. (1953). The physiological differentiation between fear and anger in humans.Psychosomatic Medicine, 15, 433–442.
Ax, A. A. (1964). Goals and methods of psychophysiology.Psychophysiology, 1, 8–25.
Buck, R. W. (1979). Individual differences in non-verbal sending accuracy and electrodermal responding: The externalizing-internalizing dimension. In R. Rosenthal (Ed.),Skill in non-verbal communication (pp. 140–170). Cambridge, MA: Oelgeschlager, Gunn & Hain.
Buck, R. (1980). Nonverbal behavior and the theory of emotion: The facial feedback hypothesis.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 811–824.
Buck, R., Miller, R. E., & Caul, W. F. (1974). Sex, personality and physiological variables in the communication of emotion via facial expression.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30, 587–596.
Bush, L. K., Barr, C. L., McHugo, G. J., & Lanzetta, J. T. (1989). The effects of facial control and facial mimicry on subjective reactions to comedy routines.Motivation and Emotion, 13, 31–52.
Carstensen, L. L., Gottman, J. M., & Levenson, R. W. (1995). Emotional behavior in long-term marriages.Psychology and Aging, 10, 140–149.
Coleman, R. M., Greenblatt, M., & Solomon, H. (1956). Physiological evidence of rapport during psychotherapeutic interviews.Diseases of the Nervous System, 17, 71–77.
Darwin, C. (1872).The expression of the emotions in man and animals. London: Murray.
DiMascio, A., Boyd, R. W., & Greenblatt, M. (1957). Physiological correlates of tension and antagonism during psychotherapy: A study of interpersonal physiology.Psychosomatic Medicine, 19, 99–104.
DiMascio, A., Boyd, R. W., Greenblatt, M., & Solomon, H. C. (1955). The psychiatric interview: A sociophysiologic study.Diseases of the Nervous System, 16, 4–9.
Dimberg, U. (1982). Facial reactions to facial expressions.Psychophysiology, 19, 643–647.
Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., Miller, P. A., Fultz, J., Shell, R., Mathy, R. M., & Reno, R. R. (1989). Relation of sympathy and personal distress to prosocial behavior: A multimethod study.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 55–66.
Empathy and Facial Modulation
Eisenberg, N., Schaller, M., Fabes, R. A., Bustamante, D., Mathy, R. M., Shell, R., & Rhodes, K. (1988). The differentiation of personal distress and sympathy in children and adults.Developmental Psychology, 24, 766–775.
Ekman, P., Levenson, R. W., & Friesen, W. V. (1983). Autonomic nervous system activity distinguishes among emotions.Science, 221, 1208–1210.
Field, T., & Walden, T. (1982). Perception and production of facial expression in infancy and early childhood. In H. Reese & L. Lipsitt (Eds.),Advances in child development and behavior (pp. 169–211). New York: Academic Press.
Field, T. M., Woodson, R., Greenberg, R., & Cohen, D. (1982). Discrimination and imitation of facial expressions by neonates.Science, 218, 179–181.
Funkenstein, D. H., King, S. H., & Drolette, M. (1954). The direction of anger during a laboratory stress-inducing situation.Psychosomatic Medicine, 16, 404–413.
Gladstein, G. A. (1984). The historical roots of contemporary empathy research.Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 20, 38–59.
Gottman, J. M. (1981).Time-series analysis: A comprehensive introduction for social scientists. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Gottman, J. M., & Levenson, R. W. (1985). A valid measure for obtaining self-report of affect.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 151–160.
Gross, J. J., & Levenson, R. W. (1993). Emotional suppression: Physiology, self report, and expressive behavior.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 970–986.
Gross, J. J., & Levenson, R. W. (in press). Hiding feelings: The acute effects of inhibiting negative and positive emotion.Journal of Abnormal Psychology. Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J. T., & Rapson, R. L. (1994).Emotional Contagion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Izard, C. E. (1971).The face of emotion. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Jones, H. E. (1935). The galvanic skin reflex as related to overt emotional expression.American Journal of Psychology, 47, 241–251.
Kaplan, H. B., & Bloom, S. W. (1960). The use of sociological and social-psychological concepts in physiological research: A review of selected experimental studies.Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 131, 128–134.
Kaplan, H. B., Burch, N. R., & Bloom, S. W. (1964). Physiological covariation and sociometric relationships in small peer groups. In P. H. Leiderman & D. Shapiro (Eds.),Psychobiological approaches to social behavior (pp. 92–109). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Laird, J. D. (1974). Self-attribution of emotion: The effects of expressive behavior on the quality of emotional experience.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 29, 475–486.
Lanzetta, J. T., Cartwright-Smith, J., & Kleck, R. E. (1976). Effects of nonverbal dissimulation on emotional experience and autonomic arousal.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 33, 354–370.
Lanzetta, J. T., & Englis, B. G. (1989). Expectations of cooperation and competition and their effects on observers' vicarious emotional responses.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 543–554.
Lanzetta, J. T., & Kleck, R. E. (1970). Encoding and decoding of nonverbal affect in humans.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 16, 12–19.
Larsen, R. J., Kasimatis, M., & Frey, K. (1992). Facilitating the furrowed brow: An unobtrusive test of the facial feedback hypothesis applied to unpleasant affect.Cognition and Emotion, 6, 321–338.
Levenson, R. W. (1992). Autonomic nervous system differences among emotions.Psychological Science, 3, 23–27.
Levenson, R. W. (1994). Human emotion: A functional view. In P. Ekman & R. J. Davidson (Eds.),The nature of emotion: Fundamental questions. New York: Oxford University Press.
Levenson, R. W., Carstensen, L. L., Friesen, W. V., & Ekman, P. (1991). Emotion, physiology, and expression in old age.Psychology and Aging, 6, 28–35.
Levenson, R. W., Carstensen, L. L., & Gottman, J. M. (1994). The influence of age and gender on affect, physiology, and their interrelations: A study of long-term marriage.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 56–68.
Levenson, R. W., Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1990). Voluntary facial action generates emotion-specific autonomic nervous system activity.Psychophysiology, 27, 363–384.
Levenson, R. W., Ekman, P., Heider, K., & Friesen, W. V. (1992). Emotion and autonomic nervous system activity in the Minangkabau of West Sumatra.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 972–988.
Levenson, R. W., & Gottman, J. M. (1983). Marital interaction: Physiological linkage and affective exchange.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 587–597.
Levenson, R. W., & Mades, L. L. (1980).Physiological response, facial expression, and trait anxiety: Two methods for improving consistency. Paper presented at the meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research.
Levenson, R. W., & Ruef, A. M. (1992). Empathy: A physiological substrate.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 234–246.
Levenson, R. W., & Ruef, A. M. (in press). Physiological aspects of emotional knowledge and rapport. In W. Ickes (Ed.).Empathic accuracy. New York: Guilford Press.
Leventhal, H., & Mace, W. (1970). The effect of laughter on evaluation of a slapstick movie.Journal of Personality, 38, 16–30.
McCarter, L. M., Ruef, A. M., & Levenson, R. W. (1996).Empathic accuracy and emotional contagion. Unpublished manuscript.
McHugo, G. J., Lanzetta, J. T., Sullivan, D. G., Masters, R. D., & Englis, B. G. (1985). Emotional reactions to a political leader's expressive displays.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 1513–1529.
Meltzoff, A. N., & Moore, M. K. (1977). Imitations of facial and manual gestures by human neonates.Science, 198, 75–78.
Meltzoff, A. N., & Moore, M. K. (1983). Newborn infants imitate adult facial gestures.Child Development, 54, 702–709.
Notarius, C. I., & Levenson, R. W. (1979). Expressive tendencies and physiological responses to stress.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1204–1210.
Reidbord, S. P., & Redington, D. J. (1993). Nonlinear analysis of autonomic responses in a therapist during psychotherapy.Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 181, 428–435.
Rogers, C. R. (1951).Client-centered therapy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Simpson, J. A., Ickes, W., & Blackstone, T. (in press). When the head protects the heart: Empathic accuracy in dating relationships.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Stanek, B., Hahn, R., & Mayer, H. (1973). Biometric findings on cardiac neurosis. III. Changes in ECG and heart rate in cardiophobic patients and their doctor during psychoanalytical initial interviews.Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 22, 289–299.
Stotland, E. (1969). Exploratory investigations of empathy. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.),Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 271–314). New York: Academic Press.
Strack, F., Martin, L., & Stepper, W. (1988). Inhibiting and facilitating conditions of the human smile: A nonobtrusive test of the facial feedback hypothesis.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 768–777.
Tomkins, S. S. (1962).Affect, imagery, consciousness. Volume 1. The positive affects. New York: Springer.
Tomkins, S. (1984). Affect theory. In K. R. Scherer & P. Ekman (Eds.),Approaches to emotion. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Vaughan, K. B., & Lanzetta, J. T. (1980). Vicarious instigation and conditioning of facial expressive and autonomic responses to a model's expressive display of pain.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 909–923.
Weinberger, D. A., Schwartz, G. E., & Davidson, R. J. (1979). Low-anxious, high-anxious, and repressive coping styles: Psychometric patterns and behavioral and physiological responses to stress.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 88, 369–380.
Wiesenfeld, A. R., Whitman, P. B., & Malatesta, C. Z. (1984). Individual differences among adult women in sensitivity to infants: Evidence in support of an empathy concept.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 118–124.
Zuckerman, M., Klorman, R., Larrance, D. T., & Spiegel, N. H. (1981). Facial, autonomic, and subjective components of emotion: The facial feedback hypothesis versus the externalizer-internalizer distinction.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41, 929–944.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The author's research reviewed in this article was supported by National Institute on Aging Grant AG07476 and National Institute of Mental Health Grants MH39895 and MH50841 to Robert W. Levenson.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Levenson, R.W. Biological substrates of empathy and facial modulation of emotion: Two facets of the scientific legacy of John Lanzetta. Motiv Emot 20, 185–204 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02251886
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02251886