Context Dependence of Uncertain Emotions: Behavioral and Eye-Movement Evidence

This study investigates whether scene context shapes facial emotion recognition, focusing on the certainty–uncertainty appraisal dimension. Uncertain emotions (fear, surprise) may rely more on contextual cues than certain emotions (anger, happiness). We will test this hypothesis using rapid decision measures and eye-movement indices capturing contextual influence. Supporting summary: In emotion recognition, facial expressions are not fixed indicators of internal states; rather, they are flexible and context-sensitive, jointly contributing to the perception of emotion. However, most research has focused primarily on facial expressions. Studies on contextual effects have typically examined body–face congruency and been interpreted within frameworks such as emotional seed theory, which emphasize physiological similarity. In contrast, appraisal theories propose multiple evaluative dimensions, including certainty–uncertainty. Evidence from integral emotion research shows that fear—an emotion high in uncertainty—elicits greater orientation toward environmental cues compared with anger, which is high in certainty. Yet the role of uncertainty in incidental emotion effects remains unclear. Facial expressions associated with high uncertainty (fear, surprise) may rely more heavily on contextual information; in other words, some emotions may be more context-dependent than others. The present study examines whether uncertainty determines how scene context influences facial emotion recognition. We hypothesize that uncertain emotions will be more susceptible to contextual interference than certain emotions. Specifically, we expect reduced accuracy and longer response times for uncertain emotions in incongruent contexts, along with increased attention to contextual regions indexed by eye movements. To test these predictions, we created composite stimuli by combining facial expressions from WSEFEP (Olszanowski et al., 2015) with scenes from NAPS (Marchewka et al., 2014). Stimuli were generated using Adobe Firefly to ensure realistic integration. All images were standardized on contrast, luminance, and informational entropy using computational preprocessing to minimize low-level variability across conditions. The main experiment will use a 2 × 2 repeated-measures design manipulating emotion type (uncertain vs. certain) and context congruency (congruent vs. incongruent). A priori power analysis (f = .15, α = .05, power = .80) indicated a minimum sample of 62 participants. The task includes positive (happiness–surprise) and negative (anger–fear) blocks, counterbalanced across participants. Each trial begins with a fixation cross followed by a composite stimulus shown for 500 ms. Participants will categorize the expression using D or L keys depending on block assignment and then rate their confidence. Eye movements will be recorded to capture context-oriented attentional patterns. By integrating appraisal theory with behavioral and eye-tracking measures, this study aims to clarify whether uncertainty functions as a mechanism in context dependence during emotion perception. Stronger context reliance for uncertain emotions would support appraisal-based accounts and advance understanding of how observers interpret emotional scenes. Olszanowski, M., Pochwatko, G., Kuklinski, K., Scibor-Rylski, M., Lewinski, P., & Ohme, R. K. (2015). Warsaw set of emotional facial expression pictures: a validation study of facial display photographs. Frontiers in psychology, 5, 1516. Marchewka, A., Żurawski, Ł., Jednoróg, K., & Grabowska, A. (2014). The Nencki Affective Picture System (NAPS). Behavior research methods, 46(2), 596-610. Keywords: emotion recognition, scene context, uncertanity