Arijit De¹, William Cunningham^2,3, Adrian Nestor¹; ¹University of Toronto, Scarborough, ²University of Toronto, ³Vector Institute

People typically approach positive facial expressions and avoid negative ones, but it is unclear whether learned approach-avoidance mappings also bias how expressions are perceived and remembered. We therefore tested whether such distortions depend on expression valence (positive vs. negative) and/or on the modality of face processing (perception vs. memory). In an online study, adults (N = 214) learned either a congruent rule (approach positive, avoid negative faces) or an incongruent rule (approach negative, avoid positive faces), reinforced with probabilistic monetary feedback. Face images were parametrically generated with EmoStyle (Azari et al., 2024), allowing us to vary valence across a full continuum while holding arousal constant, and preserving facial identity. After learning, we assessed memory with a continuous “valence wheel” task, in which participants tried to match the valence of previously seen faces. We then assessed perception with Self-Assessment Manikin ratings of valence and arousal for the same stimuli, providing a complementary read-out of emotional evaluation. Across conditions and expressions, emotional valence was remembered reliably above chance, with better memory for positive than negative expressions. Critically, positive faces learned under the incongruent rule were later recalled as more negative than those learned under the congruent rule while negative faces were remembered similarly across conditions. Perceptual ratings showed a complementary pattern where valence differed between conditions only for negative faces, which were perceived as less negative in the incongruent than in the congruent condition, with no reliable effect for positive faces. These findings suggest that approach-avoidance behavior distorts emotional face representations in a modality- and valence-dependent manner, altering both how expressions are perceived and how they are remembered.

Acknowledgements: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada