The influence of facial blushing and paling on emotion perception and memory

Emotion expressions facilitate interpersonal communication by conveying information about a person’s affective state. The current work investigates how facial coloration (i.e., subtle changes in chromaticity from baseline facial color) impacts the perception of, and memory for, emotion expressions, and whether these depend on dynamic (vs. static) representations of emotional behavior. Emotion expressive stimuli that either did or did not vary in facial coloration were shown to participants who were asked to categorize and rate the stimuli’s intensity (Exps. 1 & 2), as well as recall their degree of facial coloration (Exps. 3 & 4). Results showed that changes in facial coloration facilitated emotion categorization accuracy in dynamic (Exp. 1) but not static expressions (Exp. 2). Facial coloration further increased perceived emotion intensity, with participants misremembering the coloration of both dynamic and static expressions differently depending on emotion category prototype (Exps. 3 & 4). Together, these findings indicate that facial coloration conveys affective information to observers and contributes to biases in how emotion expressions are perceived and remembered

Dressed for Sex: Red as a Female Sexual Signal in Humans

Background: In many non-human primate species, a display of red by a female serves as a sexual signal to attract male conspecifics. Red is associated with sex and romance in humans, and women convey their sexual interest to men through a variety of verbal, postural, and behavioral means. In the present research, we investigate whether female red ornamentation in non-human primates has a human analog, whereby women use a behavioral display of red to signal their sexual interest to men. Methodology/Principal Findings: Three studies tested the hypothesis that women use red clothing to communicate sexual interest to men in profile pictures on dating websites. In Study 1, women who imagined being interested in casual sex were more likely to display red (but not other colors) on their anticipated web profile picture. In Study 2, women who indicated interest in casual sex were more likely to prominently display red (but not other colors) on their actual web profile picture. In Study 3, women on a website dedicated to facilitating casual sexual relationships were more likely to prominently exhibit red (but not other colors) than women on a website dedicated to facilitating marital relationships. Conclusions/Significance: These results establish a provocative parallel between women and non-human female primates in red signal coloration in the mating game. This research shows, for the first time, a functional use of color in women’s sexual self-presentation, and highlights the need to extend research on color beyond physics, physiology, and preference to psychological functioning

Impact of PhACs on Soil Microorganisms

International audienceThe use of reclaimed water in crop irrigation helps to mitigate water shortage. The fertilization of arable soils with sewage sludge, biosolids, or livestock manure reduces extensive application of synthetic fertilizers. However, both practices lead to the introduction of pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs) in arable soil, known to host a wide range of living organisms, including microorganisms which are supporting numerous ecosystem services. In soils, the fate of PhACs is governed by different abiotic and biotic processes. Among them, soil sorption and microbial transformation are the most important ones and determine the fate, occurrence, and dispersion of PhACs into the different compartments of the environment. The presence of PhACs in soils can compromise the abundance, diversity, and activity of the soil microbial community which is one of the key players in a range of soil ecosystem services. This chapter reviews the current knowledge of the effects of PhACs, commonly found in wastewater effluents and derived organic fertilizers, on the soil microbial community