Images of Compound Affect (IsCA) is a collection of 156 black and white facial expression images, posed by one subject. These expressions form a catalogue of compounds associated with the emotion labels happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, fear, surprise, and contempt. Two sets were constructed: IsCA and IsCA+. IsCA+ includes colour bounding boxes and hand-drawn markup. The resulting sets and metadata were used to create adjunct reference material for certified and trainee FACS coders. The sets are organised by compound type. Single upper, single lower (SUSL) compounds depict the actions associated with one emotion label in the upper face and another in the lower face. Neutral upper, single lower (NUSL) compounds depict neutrality in the upper face and the actions associated with one emotion label in the lower face. Single upper, neutral lower (SUNL) compounds depict neutrality in the lower face and the actions associated with one emotion label in the upper face. Neutral upper, dual lower (NUDL) compounds depict neutrality in the upper face and the actions associated with two emotion labels in the lower face. Dual upper, neutral lower (DUNL) compounds depict neutrality in the lower face and the actions associated with two emotion labels in the upper face. Single upper, dual lower (SUDL) compounds depict the actions associated with one emotion label in the upper face and two in the lower face. Dual upper, single lower (DUSL) compounds depict the actions associated with two emotion labels in the upper face and one in the lower face. Dual upper, dual lower (DUDL) compounds depict the actions associated with two emotion labels in the upper face and two in the lower face. Contempt (C) compounds depict (1) the actions associated with one emotion label in the upper face with another in the lower face modified by a unilateral action associated with contempt, (2) the actions associated with one emotion label in the upper face and a unilateral action associated with contempt in the lower face, and (3) neutrality in the upper face and the actions associated with one emotion label in the lower face modified by a unilateral action associated with contempt. Such arrangements are particularly suited to studies of face processing and emotion labelling in clinical populations. They also suit studies on partial facial neutrality and emotion labelling. Broader potential applications include testing and training FACS-based technologies, guiding the construction of multi-subject sets, proving concept and feasibility for complex controlled poses, and assisting creative industry projects.

I took images in batches, between 2015 and 2016, with the technology and facilities available at the time. I made reasonable efforts to hold consistent camera; camera angle; room location; head, body, and eye position; clothing; and lighting. I took all images in the late evening for reasons incidental to the project. I selected emotion labels by reviewing several prominent resources and extracting concensus codes. I describe this process in Table 1 of the metadata document. I studied and became certified in the Facial Action Coding System (FACS; Ekman et al. 2002) prior to posing the images. It was not possible to involve other coders due to time and cost limitations; accordingly, where use of the material relies upon the FACS code metafields in version 1 of the IsCA(+) supplementary documentation, I advise users to seek input from at least one other FACS certified coder. I’d also be grateful of the chance to add their scores to future versions with permission, as this information is vital for the dataset’s continuous improvement.