Bucy, E., & Bradley S. D. (2004). Presidential expression and viewer emotion: Counterempathic responses to televised leader displays. Social Science Information, 43, 59-94.

Abstract
Despite the biological predisposition to recognize and mimic facial expressions, not all reactions to expressive displays are emotionally congruent. This paper reports on an experiment designed to show how incongruent, or counterempathic, responses to facial expressions may be evoked in political communication, signaling disapproval and unease. Subjects were shown a series of four news stories, each followed by a 30-second televised reaction of President Bill Clinton. The story-reaction sequences varied by story topic, level of emotion, and degree of appropriateness. Both physiological (facial muscle activation, or EMG; heart rate; and skin conductance) and emotional self-report measures indicated that evaluations of display appropriateness seem to moderate how much attention is given to the display, the affective direction of viewers' facial muscle activation, and the level of autonomic activation, or arousal. The EMG data showed that viewers frowned in response to positive expressive displays that followed positive news. Smiling activation also decreased for high-intensity, positive displays. By manipulating the valence and intensity of the associated news event, facial mimicry-and emotional responses to leaders generally-are shown to be situationally influenced by the larger social and informational context.