Subtle Positive Facial Expression Recognition is Enhanced by Comedy Viewing: Moderating Roles of Empathy and Depression

Recognising subtle signs of positive emotion is essential for trust, cooperation, and social connection. However, everyday barriers—such as face masks—can hinder this ability. We tested whether a brief positive mood induction via comedy viewing could enhance 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, then judging the valence of morphed facial expressions (10–30% intensity) shown with or without a mask. Comedy viewing significantly increased positive mood (POMS2-BF VA: p < .001, r = .43) and reduced negative mood (e.g., TA: p = .004, r = .69). Recognition accuracy for subtle positive expressions improved after comedy for unmasked faces (p = .0016, r = .09) but not for masked faces (p = .27), where performance remained at chance. Greater perspective-taking and lower depressive mood predicted greater improvement. Even participants with higher depressive symptoms showed measurable gains. These results demonstrate that a short, enjoyable activity—watching comedy—can sharpen attunement to others’ positive emotions, but only when key facial cues are visible, highlighting both the potential and limits of mood-based interventions for social communication.