Date of Award

Spring 2026

Degree Type

Thesis

Department

Psychology

Director of Thesis

Dr. Svetlana S. Shinkareva

Second Reader

Xuan Yang

Abstract

My thesis aims to develop and evaluate a facial coding system that can quantify facial movements in the context of misophonia. The system uses binary coding to individually quantify and identify each orofacial movement that occurs independent of other movements or artifacts that could interfere with coding data. The system can be used across multiple coders with statistically significant reliability into how orofacial movements are interpreted. The psychophysiological verification study used electromyography to examine the muscle potentiation of the corrugator supercilii and zygomaticus major muscles to map observable facial movement to underlying muscle potentiation. This facial coding system can be used to identify specific expressions linked to misophonia and contribute to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the condition. Data derived from the facial coding system can also be used as a benchmark coding system to verify and develop other facial coding systems such as OpenFace and Py-Feat.

First Page

1

Last Page

49

Rights

Copyright © 2026, Rachel Sellers. All rights reserved.

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