Value computations underpin flexible emotion expression

Emotion expressions constitute a vital channel for communication, coordination and connection with others, but despite such valuable functions, people sometimes engage in expressive suppression or substitution (expressing emotions they do not genuinely feel). Yet, how exactly do people decide when and what to express? To answer this question, we developed a computational model that casts emotion expressions as value-based communicative decisions. Our model reveals that while people (N = 254) indeed tended to suppress expressions of anger towards others in anticipation of potential social costs as past work theorizes, they also engaged in other nuanced forms of expressive regulation, especially when their reputation was at stake. Most strikingly, people selectively exaggerated/suppressed expressions of happiness when others made more/less equitable choices, seemingly to communicate stronger normative preferences for fairness than they privately held. Together, these findings yield insights into how people regulate their emotion expressions, providing a mechanistic and unified account of the different expressive behaviors people flexibly engage in to navigate their complex social interactions with others.