The influence of facial interface design on dynamic emotional recognition

The use of facial interfaces in distant communications highlights the relevance of emotional recognition. However researches on emotional facial expression (EFE) recognition are mainly based on static and posed stimuli and their results are not much transferable to daily interactions. The purpose of the present study is to compare emotional recognition of authentic EFEs with 11 different interface designs. A widget allowing participants both to recognize an emotion and to assess it on-line was used. Divided-face and compound-face interfaces are compared with a common full frontal interface. Analytic and descriptive on-line results reveal that some interfaces facilitate emotional recognition whereas others would decrease it. This study suggests that relevant interfaces could improve emotional recognition and thus facilitate distant communications.