The study is devoted to the experimental study of semantic similarities and differences in the assessments of verbal designations of basic emotions in adult and child samples — the focus is on the regularities of assessing basic emotions by children and adults using the semantic differential in terms of affective polar concepts. A comparative analysis of assessments of verbal designations of basic emotions by children and adults was carried out, which showed their coincidence in 72% of cases. The differences between adults and children are that adults rate them more pronounced (with the exception of “surprise”). The semantic differential developed taking into account age characteristics can be used to verify emoji expressions of basic emotions.

Different observers’ visions of the personality of one and the same human, depicted on an artistic portrait or a photograph, where investigated experimentally. The observers’ estimations obtained by a well known method of “Personality Difference”, were used as the analytic tool. The collected data witness, that different methods of presentation lead to different vision of one and the same personality. A considerable individual variability of significantly different scale estimations’ body and quantity depending on the estimated person was discovered. According to the factor analyses, the persons on photographs are generally perceived as being more active (sociable) then on portraits. The dependence between observers’ self-esteems and their estimations of personages’ individual psychological characteristics regardless to presentation method was also discovered.

The study experimentally investigated the perception of the identity of the same person, depicted in a photo and in a portrait. Firstly, the evaluations of the individual psychologic characteristics of several historical personalities of XIX—XX centuries were analyzed. Secondly, the perceived structure of their values. It was found that similar evaluations of personality traits occur in perception of different images of the same face. While evaluating portraits, the participant used more diverse words, number of characteristics and performed the task longer. Evaluations of our participants and contemporaries of demonstrated personalities matched each other. The means of evaluations of differences in perception of the values of artistic and documentary images of the same person were not significantly different. Reconstruction of personalities’ identity via their face images is based on social roles attached to them, rather than on the artistic or documentary ways of their representation.

The article presents a study of the specificity of perception of expression of the whole and fragmented (divided into left and right half) face made on the example of the perception of pictorial portraits. The data obtained in the study are fully consistent with previously obtained results of the similar study of perception of facsimiles (Artemtseva, 2003, Barabanschikov, Boldyrev, 2007; Barabanschikov, Zhegallo, 2013). The right and the left side of the face and the image of a whole face have their own expressive potential, which is reflected in the use by observer of different individual psychological characteristics in their description. The expression of a whole face often has a contradictory character with overly intensified emotions and is not a simple sum of the characteristics that are used in the description of the right and left halves of the face. Thus, perception of expression of a whole face and of a “split face” brings up several different patterns of personality. The similarity of the experimental data, obtained at different stimulus material (portraits and images), speaks about the invariance of perception of human face, regardless of the method of its representation.

The work is aimed at developing methods for studying the processes of perception, diagnosis, and induction of emotional states of children of primary and secondary school age. A review of research methods and induction of human emotional states for adults and children and their limitations is presented. Using digital technologies, sets of stimulus images of dynamic (Animoji) and static (Emoji) expressions of 9 basic emotions of different intensity were prepared. The method of semantic differential conducted a preliminary verification — a comparison of the semantic profiles of static expressions and their verbal designations. High correlations were obtained between verbal designations and evaluations of expressions of joy, disgust, and sadness. The correlations of expressions of anger and surprise indicate the need for their slight refinement, contempt, shame and guilt — more substantial, and fear — a complete alteration. The results will allow you to make adjustments to the design procedure of the stimulus material and make it more valid.