Efeito Kuleshov: a influência do contexto emocional no processamento de faces / Kuleshov Effect: the influence of emotional context on face processing / Efecto Kuleshov: la influencia del contexto emocional en el procesamiento facial

Em 1920, Lev Vladimirovitch Kuleshov relatou que o contexto emocional quando justaposto à face neutra poderia afetar a percepção da face, tornando-a emocional. Na área do cinema este fenômeno foi denominado de efeito Kuleshov. A existência do efeito tem sido cientificamente questionada, e desde então, neurocientistas tentam validar o efeito Kuleshov. Neste artigo iremos sumarizar os diferentes modelos experimentais que têm sido utilizados na investigação do efeito Kuleshov e os resultados encontrados até o momento por meio do método científico; mais precisamente em pesquisas experimentais e da neurociência. Os resultados desses estudos mostram indícios do efeito Kuleshov a nível comportamental e de processamento neuronal, entretanto, nenhum estudo conseguiu comprová-lo.

In 1920, Lev Vladimirovitch Kuleshov reported that the emotional context juxtaposed with the neutral face could affect the face perception making it reported as emotional. In the cinema area, this phenomenon was denominate of Kuleshov effect. The existence of the effect is scientifically questionable, and neuroscientists are engaged in validating the Kuleshov effect. In this article we will summarize the different experimental models that have been used in the investigation of the Kuleshov effect and the results found so far through the scientific method; more precisely in experimental and neuroscience research.The results of these studies show some evidence, however, there is no complete proof of the Kuleshov effect.

En 1920, Lev Vladimirovitch Kuleshov demostró que el contexto emocional, cuando se yuxtaponía con un rostro neutro, afectaba la percepción del rostro, haciéndolo emocional. En el área del cine, este fenómeno se denominaba efecto Kuleshov. La existencia del efecto es científicamente cuestionable, y los neurocientíficos se dedican a validar el efecto Kuleshov. En este artículo resumiremos los diferentes modelos experimentales que se han utilizado en la investigación del efecto Kuleshov y los resultados encontrados hasta ahora a través del método científico; más precisamente en investigación experimental y neurociencia. Los resultados de estos estudios mostran alguna evidencia, sin embargo, no hay una prueba completa del efecto Kuleshov.

How Context Influences Our Perception of Emotional Faces: A Behavioral Study on the Kuleshov Effect.

Facial expressions are of major importance in understanding the mental and emotional states of others. So far, most studies on the perception and comprehension of emotions have used isolated facial expressions as stimuli; for example, photographs of actors displaying facial expressions corresponding to one of the so called 'basic emotions.' However, our real experience during social interactions is different: facial expressions of emotion are mostly perceived in a wider context, constituted by body language, the surrounding environment, and our beliefs and expectations. Already in the early twentieth century, the Russian filmmaker Lev Kuleshov argued that such context, established by intermediate shots of strong emotional content, could significantly change our interpretation of facial expressions in film. Prior experiments have shown behavioral effects pointing in this direction, but have only used static images as stimuli. Our study used a more ecological design with participants watching film sequences of neutral faces, crosscut with scenes of strong emotional content (evoking happiness or fear, plus neutral stimuli as a baseline condition). The task was to rate the emotion displayed by a target person's face in terms of valence, arousal, and category. Results clearly demonstrated the presence of a significant effect in terms of both valence and arousal in the fear condition only. Moreover, participants tended to categorize the target person's neutral facial expression choosing the emotion category congruent with the preceding context. Our results highlight the context-sensitivity of emotions and the importance of studying them under ecologically valid conditions.

The Auditory Kuleshov Effect: Multisensory Integration in Movie Editing.

Almost a hundred years ago, the Russian filmmaker Lev Kuleshov conducted his now famous editing experiment in which different objects were added to a given film scene featuring a neutral face. It is said that the audience interpreted the unchanged facial expression as a function of the added object (e.g., an added soup made the face express hunger). This interaction effect has been dubbed "Kuleshov effect." In the current study, we explored the role of sound in the evaluation of facial expressions in films. Thirty participants watched different clips of faces that were intercut with neutral scenes, featuring either happy music, sad music, or no music at all. This was crossed with the facial expressions of happy, sad, or neutral. We found that the music significantly influenced participants' emotional judgments of facial expression. Thus, the intersensory effects of music are more specific than previously thought. They alter the evaluation of film scenes and can give meaning to ambiguous situations.

Does the Kuleshov Effect Really Exist? Revisiting a Classic Film Experiment on Facial Expressions and Emotional Contexts.

According to film mythology, the Soviet filmmaker Lev Kuleshov conducted an experiment in which he combined a close-up of an actor's neutral face with three different emotional contexts: happiness, sadness, and hunger. The viewers of the three film sequences reportedly perceived the actor's face as expressing an emotion congruent with the given context. It is not clear, however, whether or not the so-called "Kuleshov effect" really exists. The original film footage is lost and recent attempts at replication have produced either conflicting or unreliable results. The current paper describes an attempt to replicate Kuleshov's original experiment using an improved experimental design. In a behavioral and eye tracking study, 36 participants were each presented with 24 film sequences of neutral faces across six emotional conditions. For each film sequence, the participants were asked to evaluate the emotion of the target person in terms of valence, arousal, and category. The participants' eye movements were recorded throughout. The results suggest that some sort of Kuleshov effect does in fact exist. For each emotional condition, the participants tended to choose the appropriate category more frequently than the alternative options, while the answers to the valence and arousal questions also went in the expected directions. The eye tracking data showed how the participants attended to different regions of the target person's face (in light of the intermediate context), but did not reveal the expected differences between the emotional conditions.