Dr. Karayianni
I can see it all over your face:
recognition of facial expressions
Image source http://www.jaschahoffman.com/ekmanLight.jpg
https://writersforensicsblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/ekman_facial_expressions.jpg
Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1971). Constants across cultures in the face and
emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 17, 124–129.
quasi-experiment
Stone-age culture
No exposure to TV, magazines, cinema, photos, etc.
Paul Ekman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umhb95CyyUk&t=
Theoretical propositions
• Theory: Facial expressions corresponding to basic emotions
are universal
• Hypothesis: members of a preliterate culture will identify
the same emotions with the same faces as do members of
literate Western and Eastern cultures
Image source http://mms.businesswire.com/media/20150529005113/en/469947/5/RS5205_L61901_2-lpr.jpg
Hypothesis: members of a preliterate culture will identify
the same emotions with the same faces as do members of
literate Western and Eastern cultures
Dependent variable?
Identification of emotions based on facial expressions
Method
• South Fore culture (Papua New Guinea)
• Group 1: 189 adults + 130 children participants
• visually isolated, hadn’t seen outsiders
• Group 2: 23 controls (had experienced a great deal of
contact with Western society )
• Showed them 3 validated photos of different facial
expressions (Westerners)
• Read a brief story that corresponded to one of the photos
• Participants pointed to the expression that fitted the story
Independent variable?
Participant variable: Exposure to foreign culture (no exposure vs. exposure)
Results
• No differences between male / female participants
• No differences between non-westernized and control
participants
• Some difficulty to distinguish fear from surprise
0
20
40
60
80
Happiness
92
Anger
85
Disgust
83
Fear
80
Sadness
79
Surprise
100
68
Discussion
• Hypothesis was supported
• Universal facial expressions for particular emotions
• Fear – surprise confusion: in this culture, fearful events are
also surprising
Implications
• Nature–nurture debate → innate
• Evolution of humans → survival value
• We recognize anger more easily than less threatening
expressions
Recent applications and further research
• Autism → difficulty recognizing facial expressions
• Eyebrows contribute to facial recognition
• Facial feedback theory: tense facial muscles → create
emotions
• Deception