The decoding of facial expressions of pain plays a crucial role in pain diagnostic and clinical decision making. For decoding studies, it is necessary to present facial expressions of pain in a flexible and controllable fashion.
Computer models avatars of human facial expressions of pain allow for systematically manipulating specific facial features. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether avatars can show realistic facial expressions of pain and how the sex of the avatars influence the decoding of pain by human observers. For that purpose, 40 female mean age: After each clip, observers were asked to provide ratings for the intensity of pain the avatars seem to experience and the certainty of judgement, i.
The sex of the observed avatars influenced the decoding of pain as indicated by increased intensity and elevated certainty ratings for female avatars. The assumption of different valid facial expressions of pain could be corroborated in avatars, which contradicts the idea of only one uniform pain face.
The use of avatars appeared to be a suitable method in research on the decoding of the facial expression of pain, mirroring closely the known forms of human facial expressions.
Facial expressions of pain can have great clinical relevance in pain diagnostics and pain management [ 1 ], [ 2 ]; however, they can only serve these functions when decoding by observers is largely correct.
