Varying Interpretations of Facial Expressions Linked to Cultural Differences

Different facial expressions may vary with the shift of cultures, says a new study.

The study published by the American Psychological Association says that though facial expressions are seen as "universal language of emotion", people from different cultures perceive happy, sad or angry facial expressions in unique ways.

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"By conducting this study, we hoped to show that people from different cultures think about facial expressions in different ways," said lead researcher Rachael E. Jack, PhD, of the University of Glasgow.

"East Asians and Western Caucasians differ in terms of the features they think constitute an angry face or a happy face," she added.

Fifteen Chinese people and 15 Caucasians living in Glasgow took part in the study.

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After showing them randomly altered facial expressions on a computer screen the study found that the Chinese participants relied on the eyes more to represent facial expressions, while Western Caucasians relied on the eyebrows and mouth.

The study was published online in APA's Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

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Source-ANI