A new study has utilized virtual reality to demonstrate that moderate-to-vigorous effort influences the perceived pleasantness of human faces with neutral expressions. The new findings have recently been published in Psychology of Sport and Exercise. The study authors were interested in deepening our understanding of how physical activity influences affective valence, meaning the positive or negative emotional tone of an event, object, or situation. The new research sought to test an assessment of affective valence that does not rely on self-report questionnaires. “Exercise is unquestionably o…
