Amy Dawel
Biographic Data
| ID | 2749959 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Amy Dawel |
| GIVEN NAMES | Amy |
| FAMILY NAME | Dawel |
| SIGNATURE | DAWEL A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Australian National University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6668-3121 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 4 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Too good to be true
The AI revolution has produced synthetic faces that often appear more human than photos of real people. We tested whether individual differences in human face recognition ability explain variation in discriminating AI from real faces. Super‐recognizers – people with exceptional ability to recognize human faces ( N = 36) – outperformed a typical sample by 15% and by 7% compared to a group of higher performing, motivated control participants (Cohen…
Eye believe you
64) replicated the increased believability of sadness with downcast gaze but showed decreased believability with sideways aversion. Overall, our results highlight the theoretical importance of alignment between the signalled meaning of co-occurring facial cues in driving perceptions of believability and provide practical guidance on how gaze can optimise the believability of CG facial expressions
Longitudinal Associations Between Mental Health and Problematic Social Media Use
Evidence about the associations between mental health and problematic social media use (PSMU) over time is mixed. While some studies have found mental health predicted PSMU over time, others found nonsignificant relationships. Therefore, the present study was aimed at investigating the impact of mental health (depression, anxiety, and wellbeing) on PSMU among young adults over time and investigating the potential mediating role of motives for soc…
Interactions between faces and visual context in emotion perception
Long-standing theories in emotion perception, such as basic emotion theory, argue that we primarily perceive others’ emotions through facial expressions. However, compelling evidence shows that other visual contexts, such as body posture or scenes, significantly influence the emotions perceived from faces and vice versa. We used meta-analysis to synthesise and quantify these effects for the first time, testing if faces have primacy over context a…
A registered conceptual replication and extension of Gable and Harmon-Jones (2008)
How do emotion and motivation affect the breadth of attention? Competing theoretical accounts propose that valence (pleasantness) or motivational intensity (strength of the urge to approach/avoid) drive changes in attentional breadth. Seminal work by Gable and Harmon-Jones (Gable, P. A., & Harmon-Jones, E. (2008). Approach-motivated positive affect reduces breadth of attention. Psychological Science, 19(5), 476–482, Study 2) found that pictures o…
People Attribute a Range of Highly-Varied and Socially-Bound Meanings to Naturalistic Sad Facial Expressions
Depictions of sadness are commonplace, and here we aimed to discover and catalogue the complex and nuanced ways that people interpret sad facial expressions. We used a rigorous qualitative methodology to build a thematic framework from 3,243 open-ended responses from 41 people who participated in 2020 and described what they thought sad expressors in 80 images were thinking, feeling, and/or intending to do. Face images were sourced from a novel s…
Four best-practice recommendations for improving the conceptualization and operationalization of motivational intensity
Replies to the comments made by Kaczmarek and Harmon-Jones (see record 2024-44184-002) on the current authors original article (see record 2021-21096-001). Kaczmarek and Harmon-Jones (2023) provide a commentary on our original empirical piece, does motivational intensity exist distinct from valence and arousal? (Campbell et al., 2021). In this response, we articulate the motivation behind our work, including the major issues with the conceptualiz…
Autistic traits are associated with differences in the perception of genuineness and approachability in emotional facial expressions, independently of alexithymia
People with autism and higher levels of autistic traits often have difficulty interpreting facial emotion. Research has commonly investigated the association between autistic traits and expression labeling ability. Here, we investigated the association between two relatively understudied abilities, namely, judging whether expressions reflect genuine emotion, and using expressions to make social approach judgements, in a nonclinical sample of unde…
Do emotion intensity, variability, differentiation, co-occurrence, and positive–negative ratios make unique contributions to predicting longitudinal change in psychological distress and well-being
A burgeoning array of affective indices are proposed to capture features of affect that contribute to mental health and well-being. However, because indices are often investigated separately, it is unclear what-if any-unique role they have. The present study addresses this question in a high-stress naturalistic context by prospectively testing the relative contributions of eight affective indices to psychological outcomes during the first acute l…
Multiple group memberships protect against anticipatory anxiety for social situations
For people with social anxiety, ongoing exposure to feared situations is crucial for both treatment and the prevention of relapse. The COVID‐19 pandemic—with prolonged, often enforced, reductions in people's social contact—reduced such exposure and may thus have exacerbated social anxiety symptoms. In this three‐wave longitudinal study ( N = 212) we explored whether people's membership in multiple groups could protect against anticipatory anxiety…
Why the other-race effect matters
What happens to everyday social interactions when other-race recognition fails? Here, we provide the first formal investigation of this question. We gave East Asian international students (N = 89) a questionnaire concerning their experiences of the other-race effect (ORE) in Australia, and a laboratory test of their objective other-race face recognition deficit using the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT). As a 'perpetrator' of the ORE, participan…
A three-dimensional model of emotional display rules
In this foundational study, we test display rules for a set of 24 theoretically derived emotions to discover the key emotional dimensions underlying this important construct. Participants (Sample 1 [exploratory factor analysis, EFA] N = 339, 18-77 years; Sample 2 [confirmatory factor analysis, CFA] N = 477, 20-81 years) rated how important it was to control expressions of each emotion for them personally (self-rules). Sample 1 also gave ratings f…
Motivational direction diverges from valence for sadness, anger, and amusement
Recent work has cast doubt on whether the strength of motivation (strength of avoidance or approach tendencies) experienced while viewing emotion-eliciting pictures is dissociable from felt valence (negative versus positive). The present study extended this work by testing specific discrete emotions (amusement, anger, awe, desire, sadness). Previous work has proposed separate motivational direction (avoid versus approach) from valence. In Study 1…
Does motivational intensity exist distinct from valence and arousal
The motivational intensity model proposes that the strength of one's urge to approach or avoid a stimulus is the primary driver of cognitive broadening/narrowing (Gable & Harmon-Jones, 2010d; Harmon-Jones et al., 2012). However, it is unclear whether motivational intensity is truly distinct from well-established dimensions of valence and arousal. Here we found an overwhelmingly strong relationship between motivational intensity and valence across…
Cause or symptom? A longitudinal test of bidirectional relationships between emotion regulation strategies and mental health symptoms
Previous work has generally conceptualized emotion regulation as contributing to mental health outcomes, and not vice versa. The present study challenges this assumption by using a prospective design to investigate the directionality of underlying relationships between emotion regulation and mental health in the context of a major population-level stressor. We surveyed a large nationally representative sample of adults (18-91 years, N = 704) at t…
The Effect of Covid-19 on Mental Health and Wellbeing in a Representative Sample of Australian Adults
There is minimal knowledge about the impact of large-scale epidemics on community mental health, particularly during the acute phase. This gap in knowledge means we are critically ill-equipped to support communities as they face the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to provide data urgently needed to inform government policy and resource allocation now and in other future crises. The study was the first to survey a representative …
Observers perceive the Duchenne marker as signaling only intensity for sad expressions, not genuine emotion
The Duchenne marker-crow's feet wrinkles at the corner of the eyes-has a reputation for signaling genuine positive emotion in smiles. Here, we test whether this facial action might be better conceptualized as a marker of emotional intensity, rather than genuineness per se, and examine its perceptual outcomes beyond smiling, in sad expressions. For smiles, we found ratings of emotional intensity (how happy a face is) were unable to fully account f…
Emotional Abilities in Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
Not just fear and sadness
Why the other-race effect matters
What happens to everyday social interactions when other-race recognition fails? Here, we provide the first formal investigation of this question. We gave East Asian international students (N = 89) a questionnaire concerning their experiences of the other-race effect (ORE) in Australia, and a laboratory test of their objective other-race face recognition deficit using the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT). As a 'perpetrator' of the ORE, participan…
Multiple group memberships protect against anticipatory anxiety for social situations
For people with social anxiety, ongoing exposure to feared situations is crucial for both treatment and the prevention of relapse. The COVID‐19 pandemic—with prolonged, often enforced, reductions in people's social contact—reduced such exposure and may thus have exacerbated social anxiety symptoms. In this three‐wave longitudinal study ( N = 212) we explored whether people's membership in multiple groups could protect against anticipatory anxiety…
Not just fear and sadness
Emotional Abilities in Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
The Effect of Covid-19 on Mental Health and Wellbeing in a Representative Sample of Australian Adults
There is minimal knowledge about the impact of large-scale epidemics on community mental health, particularly during the acute phase. This gap in knowledge means we are critically ill-equipped to support communities as they face the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to provide data urgently needed to inform government policy and resource allocation now and in other future crises. The study was the first to survey a representative …
Observers perceive the Duchenne marker as signaling only intensity for sad expressions, not genuine emotion
The Duchenne marker-crow's feet wrinkles at the corner of the eyes-has a reputation for signaling genuine positive emotion in smiles. Here, we test whether this facial action might be better conceptualized as a marker of emotional intensity, rather than genuineness per se, and examine its perceptual outcomes beyond smiling, in sad expressions. For smiles, we found ratings of emotional intensity (how happy a face is) were unable to fully account f…
Does motivational intensity exist distinct from valence and arousal
The motivational intensity model proposes that the strength of one's urge to approach or avoid a stimulus is the primary driver of cognitive broadening/narrowing (Gable & Harmon-Jones, 2010d; Harmon-Jones et al., 2012). However, it is unclear whether motivational intensity is truly distinct from well-established dimensions of valence and arousal. Here we found an overwhelmingly strong relationship between motivational intensity and valence across…
Cause or symptom? A longitudinal test of bidirectional relationships between emotion regulation strategies and mental health symptoms
Previous work has generally conceptualized emotion regulation as contributing to mental health outcomes, and not vice versa. The present study challenges this assumption by using a prospective design to investigate the directionality of underlying relationships between emotion regulation and mental health in the context of a major population-level stressor. We surveyed a large nationally representative sample of adults (18-91 years, N = 704) at t…
A three-dimensional model of emotional display rules
In this foundational study, we test display rules for a set of 24 theoretically derived emotions to discover the key emotional dimensions underlying this important construct. Participants (Sample 1 [exploratory factor analysis, EFA] N = 339, 18-77 years; Sample 2 [confirmatory factor analysis, CFA] N = 477, 20-81 years) rated how important it was to control expressions of each emotion for them personally (self-rules). Sample 1 also gave ratings f…
Motivational direction diverges from valence for sadness, anger, and amusement
Recent work has cast doubt on whether the strength of motivation (strength of avoidance or approach tendencies) experienced while viewing emotion-eliciting pictures is dissociable from felt valence (negative versus positive). The present study extended this work by testing specific discrete emotions (amusement, anger, awe, desire, sadness). Previous work has proposed separate motivational direction (avoid versus approach) from valence. In Study 1…
Do emotion intensity, variability, differentiation, co-occurrence, and positive–negative ratios make unique contributions to predicting longitudinal change in psychological distress and well-being
A burgeoning array of affective indices are proposed to capture features of affect that contribute to mental health and well-being. However, because indices are often investigated separately, it is unclear what-if any-unique role they have. The present study addresses this question in a high-stress naturalistic context by prospectively testing the relative contributions of eight affective indices to psychological outcomes during the first acute l…
Multiple group memberships protect against anticipatory anxiety for social situations
For people with social anxiety, ongoing exposure to feared situations is crucial for both treatment and the prevention of relapse. The COVID‐19 pandemic—with prolonged, often enforced, reductions in people's social contact—reduced such exposure and may thus have exacerbated social anxiety symptoms. In this three‐wave longitudinal study ( N = 212) we explored whether people's membership in multiple groups could protect against anticipatory anxiety…
Why the other-race effect matters
What happens to everyday social interactions when other-race recognition fails? Here, we provide the first formal investigation of this question. We gave East Asian international students (N = 89) a questionnaire concerning their experiences of the other-race effect (ORE) in Australia, and a laboratory test of their objective other-race face recognition deficit using the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT). As a 'perpetrator' of the ORE, participan…
People Attribute a Range of Highly-Varied and Socially-Bound Meanings to Naturalistic Sad Facial Expressions
Depictions of sadness are commonplace, and here we aimed to discover and catalogue the complex and nuanced ways that people interpret sad facial expressions. We used a rigorous qualitative methodology to build a thematic framework from 3,243 open-ended responses from 41 people who participated in 2020 and described what they thought sad expressors in 80 images were thinking, feeling, and/or intending to do. Face images were sourced from a novel s…
Four best-practice recommendations for improving the conceptualization and operationalization of motivational intensity
Replies to the comments made by Kaczmarek and Harmon-Jones (see record 2024-44184-002) on the current authors original article (see record 2021-21096-001). Kaczmarek and Harmon-Jones (2023) provide a commentary on our original empirical piece, does motivational intensity exist distinct from valence and arousal? (Campbell et al., 2021). In this response, we articulate the motivation behind our work, including the major issues with the conceptualiz…
Autistic traits are associated with differences in the perception of genuineness and approachability in emotional facial expressions, independently of alexithymia
People with autism and higher levels of autistic traits often have difficulty interpreting facial emotion. Research has commonly investigated the association between autistic traits and expression labeling ability. Here, we investigated the association between two relatively understudied abilities, namely, judging whether expressions reflect genuine emotion, and using expressions to make social approach judgements, in a nonclinical sample of unde…
Longitudinal Associations Between Mental Health and Problematic Social Media Use
Evidence about the associations between mental health and problematic social media use (PSMU) over time is mixed. While some studies have found mental health predicted PSMU over time, others found nonsignificant relationships. Therefore, the present study was aimed at investigating the impact of mental health (depression, anxiety, and wellbeing) on PSMU among young adults over time and investigating the potential mediating role of motives for soc…
Interactions between faces and visual context in emotion perception
Long-standing theories in emotion perception, such as basic emotion theory, argue that we primarily perceive others’ emotions through facial expressions. However, compelling evidence shows that other visual contexts, such as body posture or scenes, significantly influence the emotions perceived from faces and vice versa. We used meta-analysis to synthesise and quantify these effects for the first time, testing if faces have primacy over context a…
A registered conceptual replication and extension of Gable and Harmon-Jones (2008)
How do emotion and motivation affect the breadth of attention? Competing theoretical accounts propose that valence (pleasantness) or motivational intensity (strength of the urge to approach/avoid) drive changes in attentional breadth. Seminal work by Gable and Harmon-Jones (Gable, P. A., & Harmon-Jones, E. (2008). Approach-motivated positive affect reduces breadth of attention. Psychological Science, 19(5), 476–482, Study 2) found that pictures o…
Too good to be true
The AI revolution has produced synthetic faces that often appear more human than photos of real people. We tested whether individual differences in human face recognition ability explain variation in discriminating AI from real faces. Super‐recognizers – people with exceptional ability to recognize human faces ( N = 36) – outperformed a typical sample by 15% and by 7% compared to a group of higher performing, motivated control participants (Cohen…
Eye believe you
64) replicated the increased believability of sadness with downcast gaze but showed decreased believability with sideways aversion. Overall, our results highlight the theoretical importance of alignment between the signalled meaning of co-occurring facial cues in driving perceptions of believability and provide practical guidance on how gaze can optimise the believability of CG facial expressions
Psychology (16 works) · Social Psychology (12 works) · Developmental psychology (11 works) · Cognitive psychology (8 works) · Clinical Psychology (7 works) · Psychiatry (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works) · Anger (5 works) · Clinical Psychology (5 works) · Face Recognition and Perception (5 works)