{
  "abstract": "Recognising the subtle signs of positive emotions is essential for trust, cooperation, and social connections. However, everyday barriers such as face masks can hinder this ability. We tested whether a brief positive mood induction via comedy viewing could enhance the recognition of subtle smiles and whether this depended on mask-wearing and individual traits. Fifty-three adults (22 males, 31 females) completed a within-subject experiment, watching either a comedy performance or a neutral weather broadcast, and then judged the valence of morphed facial expressions (10–30% intensity) with or without a mask. Comedy viewing significantly increased positive mood and reduced negative mood. Recognition accuracy for subtle positive expressions improved after comedy for unmasked faces but not for masked faces. Greater perspective-taking and lower depressive mood were associated with greater improvement in exploratory analyses. These results suggest that a short, enjoyable activity, such as watching comedy, may enhance sensitivity to others’ positive emotions, but only when key facial cues are visible.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Graduate School of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science",
    "Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo",
    "University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Keisuke Adachi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Miyu Kashiwa"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Masaumi Shimizu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Masato Okada"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Asami Oguro-Ando"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Hiroko Ichikawa"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cj4bctn2nq59x.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41598-026-59955-0",
  "fulltext_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-59955-0",
  "id": "cj4bctn2nq59x",
  "issns": [
    "2045-2322"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-59955-0",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "lcc",
      "Q"
    ],
    [
      "lcc",
      "R"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2805|Face Recognition and Perception"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7169778977",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-59955-0_reference.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-07-01",
  "publisher": "Nature Portfolio",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cj4bctn2nq59x.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:45:59Z",
      "native_id": "fee83f864d3e47a98f62adec7b624509",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-59955-0"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2805|Face Recognition and Perception",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Subtle positive facial expression recognition is enhanced by comedy viewing: individual differences in empathy and depressive tendencies",
  "title_text": "Subtle positive facial expression recognition is enhanced by comedy viewing: individual differences in empathy and depressive tendencies",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:45:59Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cj4bctn2nq59x",
  "venue": "Scientific Reports",
  "versions": []
}