The recognition of 18 facial-bodily expressions across nine cultures.

Abstract

An enduring focus in the science of emotion is the question of which psychological states are signaled in expressive behavior. Based on empirical findings from previous studies, we created photographs of facial-bodily expressions of 18 states and presented these to participants in nine cultures. In a wellvalidated recognition paradigm, participants matched stories of causal antecedents to one of four expressions of the same valence. All 18 facial-bodily expressions were recognized at well above chance levels. We conclude by discussing the methodological shortcomings of our study and the conceptual implications of its findings.

Mapping the Passions: Toward a High-Dimensional Taxonomy of Emotional Experience and Expression

“…For example, studies that seek to document associations between expressions of “happiness” and self-reported experience or physiological response ignore established distinctions among different positive emotions and their accompanying expressions. As is evident in Figures 2 and 3, and in dozens of empirical studies, the positive emotions are numerous—including love, desire, awe, amusement, pride, enthusiasm, and interest, for example (Campos, Shiota, Keltner, Gonzaga, & Goetz, 2013; Shiota et al, 2017)—and there are varieties of smiles and other facial expressions that covary with these distinct positive emotions (Cordaro et al, in press; Cowen & Keltner, in press; Keltner et al, 2016; Martin, Rychlowska, Wood, & Niedenthal, 2017; Oveis, Spectre, Smith, Liu, & Keltner, 2013; Sauter, 2017; Wood et al, 2016). To give another example, the focus on sadness to the exclusion of sympathy and distress fails to capture the various emotions and blends engaged in responding to the suffering of others (Eisenberg et al, 1988; Singer & Klimecki, 2014; Stellar, Cohen, Oveis, & Keltner, 2015).…”

“…This assumption receives only modest support in Barrett and colleagues’ review and is disconfirmed when participants from different cultures use different words to label the same facial expression (e.g., Crivelli, Russell, Jarillo, & Fernández-Dols, 2016). Single emotion words vary in their meaning across cultures, calling into question whether cross-cultural comparisons using this approach are sound (Boster, 2005; Cordaro et al, in press; Russell, 1991).…”

“…The same is true of positive emotions such as amusement, awe, contentment, desire, love, and sympathy, in which subtle movements such as the head tilted back and open mouth of amusement, or the gaze and head oriented upward of awe, express these different emotions (Cordaro et al, 2018, in press; Eisenberg et al, 1988; Gonzaga, Keltner, Londahl, & Smith, 2001; Keltner & Bonanno, 1997; Shiota, Campos, & Keltner, 2003). Reports of recent empirical work show that when these nuanced patterns of expressive behavior are captured in still photographs, 18 affective states are recognized across 9 different cultures with accuracy rates often exceeding those observed in studies of the basic six (Cordaro et al, in press).…”

“…We illustrate some counterexamples to this tenet in (b). Plausible responses to some of the antecedents that have been used to elicit the basic six also include the three expressions presented here, which are reliably recognized as signals of “awe,” “embarrassment,” and “contempt” (Cordaro et al, in press; Cowen & Keltner, in press; Keltner, 1995; Shiota, Campos, & Keltner, 2003). Compared with the basic six prototypes in terms of facial muscle activation, they most closely resemble “surprise,” “happiness,” and “disgust,” respectively, categories that notably contrast with the emotions people readily perceive in these expressions.…”

“…Since the Ekman and Friesen findings of 50 years ago, considerable advances have been made in understanding how we express emotion in nuanced, multimodal patterns of behavior (Bänziger, Mortillaro, & Scherer, 2012; Cordaro et al, in press; Keltner & Cordaro, 2015; Paulmann & Pell, 2011; Scherer & Ellgring, 2007; Tracy & Matsumoto, 2008; Tracy & Robins, 2004). For example, shifts in gaze as well as movements in the face, head, body, and hands differentiate expressions of self-conscious emotions—pride, shame, and embarrassment (Keltner, 1995; Tracy & Robins, 2007a).…”