Emotional Reactions to Point-Light Display Animations

Emotional reactions to basic, artificial, yet carefully controllable point-light displays (PLDs) were investigated with ratings of valence, arousal, approachability and dominance. PLDs were varied by movement location (upper and lower) and intensity (
$10^{\circ }$
,
$20^{\circ }$
and
$30^{\circ }$
angular change) for angular upward and downward movements. Half of participants (
$N =28$
) were told that PLDs were related to face while to other half nothing was hinted. Results showed that
$20^{\circ }$
and
$30^{\circ }$
angle lower location upward movements were rated as significantly more pleasant, relaxing and approachable than corresponding upper location downward movements. Informed participants rated
$20^{\circ }$
and
$30^{\circ }$
angle lower movements as significantly more controllable than corresponding upper movements. Results are important from many perspectives, like for understanding human perceptual mechanisms. When using PLDs only a small amount of information needs to be transmitted. This enables low bandwidth requirements. As PLD visualizations are simple, there is no need for high-definition displays.