The seven basic facial expressions of emotion can be dubbed the world’s universal language.  Numerous scientific studies have qualified the fact that facial expressions are innate human behaviors, so they do not differ across cultures.

Eureka Alert has just reported that there is a new study that examines how people from divergent cultural backgrounds, particularly East Asians and Western Caucasians, perceive facial expressions through their own mental representations.

Lead researcher Rachael E. Jack, PhD, of the University of Glasgow commented, “Our findings highlight the importance of understanding cultural differences in communication, which is particularly relevant in our increasingly connected world.”

This research purports that some facial emotions are expressed differently in East Asia; therefore, questioning the validity of the universality of facial expressions especially the ones outlined in FACS.

It suggests that facial expressions categorized using FACS  focus on the nose and mouth region of the face, but the study, which has been published online in APA’s Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, states that East Asians focus on the eye region of the face; therefore, making errors when delineating between facial expressions of fear, surprise, anger and disgust.

“By conducting this study, we hoped to show that people from different cultures think about facial expressions in different ways,”

Humintell understands the importance of cross-cultural adaptation.  Different Cultures respond to situations in divergent ways.  It is important to be able to recognize this difference and understand its cultural relevance.

Through research and applications Humintell has developed a Cross -Cultural Adaption Course to help people handle business and personal moves with ease.  For additional information on this product, check out the Coming Soon section of our website.

What do you think about Jack’s findings? Do you think they have any merit?

Isn’t life really a conglomerate of emotions one after the other?  So, how can one refrain from expressing how they feel?

Sometimes, especially in high excitement situations (either of sadness, confusion or joy) our emotions just “leak” out.

The outward display of emotions in many sports has become taboo.   From professional football to high school football, players are required NOT to show their emotions.  Many people would agree that showboating is not necessary and is really a reflection of poor sportsmanship.  The problem is that the definition of showboating at least in football’s rule book seems to be too ambiguous.

According to Fox’s Channel 8, showboating or what football refers to as excessive celebration is specifically prohibited.  The rulebook officially “prohibits any prolonged act that focuses attention on a player”.

What do you think?  Is the rule book clear enough or do you think it should be more clearly defined?

This controversy comes into light because of a high school football team from Ohio that was recently penalized for displaying too much emotion.  The unfortunate circumstance is that the boy who scored the touchdown, who was one of two players that “focused attention” on themselves, did so in the memory of his close friend who’s funeral he attended earlier that day.

The referee (in question on the video below) allegedly asked the players not to thrust their fingers into the air and according to him they did so before and after that request, which is when he threw the flag and penalized the team.

Even knowing the boy’s circumstances, which the referee could not have known, is thrusting a finger into the air excessive celebration?  or Are we taking this no display of emotions rule too stringently?

Check out the video below that delineates the “excessive”gesture in question.

To hear Dr. Matsumoto’s comments on the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat click here.

Here’s an old video that if you haven’t seen, will lighten your day. Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.