Introduction to the Special Issue on Emotional Expression Beyond the Face: On the Importance of Multiple Channels of Communication and Context

Since Darwin’s (1872) publication of The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, emotion researchers have made tremendous progress in understanding the function, structure, and significance of emotion. Yet, the bulk of this work has focused squarely on the face. Recent research has shown the importance of augmenting facial expression research with a focus on other modalities, and carefully attending to the role of context in disambiguating emotional cues. This special issue includes theoretical and empirical papers that advance our understanding of emotional expression beyond the face. Emerging themes from this special issue comprise advances in the modal expression of positive emotion, the advantage of studying bodily expressions of emotion, and the importance of spontaneous, authentic, and dynamic emotional expressions, particularly ones that are situated into their appropriate context.