Relational network of happy and fearful facial expressions: a happiness superiority effect revealed by the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure

The study sought to explore the properties of verbally-established relations involved in a relational network concerned with facial expressions of happiness and fear, and with words that convey happy and fearful meanings, as truthfully or falsely related. The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) and self-report rating scales were employed to address these purposes. Participants also completed a Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS). The IRAP presented either fearful or happy facial expressions as label stimuli, retrieved from the MPI FACES database, and words coordinate with either happiness or fear as target stimuli. The response options (relational coherence indicators) were “True” and “False.” Results showed differential trial-type effects at the individual and group levels; the latter indicated a “happiness superiority” effect. Specifically, the difference in the latency scores were largest for the trial-type that presented pictures of happy faces with happy-related words. The conceptual implications arising from this, and other trial-type effects, and their relationship with the self-report measures will be discussed.