Beyond Disambiguation: Explanatory Context Broadens Emotion Perception From Ambiguous Faces

Abstract Context can disambiguate facial expressions by shifting interpretations toward one of several plausible emotions. We tested whether context can also broaden emotional interpretation by making multiple affective components simultaneously plausible. In a 2026 online experiment, participants ( N = 107) viewed 12 ambiguous expressions following everyday vignettes presented either with or without explanatory situational information. Participants were additionally assigned to a brief loving-kindness meditation (LKM) or an active control exercise. Without explanation, expressions were predominantly perceived as angry. Providing an explanation reduced perceived anger only slightly but substantially increased perceived worry, eliminating the initial difference between these ratings. Importantly, explanatory context did not simply replace anger with another emotion: rather, participants perceived the face as showing both anger and worry. LKM did not produce a comparable shift. Exploratory process analyses suggested that explanatory context altered emotion perception through changes in situational construal. Context also increased empathy and interpersonal closeness. Thus, context did not merely resolve emotional ambiguity. By helping observers understand why someone reacts as they do, it can support a richer interpretation of an ambiguous expression.