Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T08:29:56.677Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Judgements of facial expressions of emotions in context and no-context Conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2015

Michael P. O'Driscoll ,
Barry L. Richardson  and
Dianne B. Wuillemin
Michael P. O'Driscoll
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology & Philosophy, University of Papua New Guinea
Barry L. Richardson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology & Philosophy, University of Papua New Guinea
Dianne B. Wuillemin
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology & Philosophy, University of Papua New Guinea
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Thirty photographs depicting diverse emotional expressions were shown to a sample of Melanesian students who were assigned to either a face plus context or face alone condition. Significant differences between the two groups were obtained in a substantial proportion of cases on Schlosberg's Pleasant Unpleasant, and Attention – Rejection scales and the emotional expressions were judged to be appropriate to the context. These findings support the suggestion that the presence or absence of context is an important variable in the judgement of emotional expression and lend credence to the universal process theory.

Research on perception of emotions has consistently illustrated that observers can accurately judge emotions in facial expressions (Ekman, Friesen, & Ellsworth, 1972; Izard, 1971) and that the face conveys important information about emotions being experienced (Ekman & Oster, 1979). In recent years, however, a question of interest has been the relative contributions of facial cues and contextual information to observers' overall judgements. This issue is important for theoretical and methodological reasons. From a theoretical viewpoint, unravelling the determinants of emotion perception would enhance our understanding of the processes of person perception and impression formation and would provide a framework for research on interpersonal communication. On methodological grounds, the researcher's approach to the face versus context issue can influence the type of research procedures used to analyse emotion perception. Specifically, much research in this field has been criticized for use of posed emotional expressions as stimuli for observers to evaluate. Spignesi and Shor (1981) have noted that only one of approximately 25 experimental studies has utilized facial expressions occurring spontaneously in real-life situations.

Type
Research Article
Information
South Pacific Journal of Psychology , Volume 1 , November 1984 , pp. 29 - 35
Copyright
Copyright © University of Papua New Guinea 1984

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Boucher, J.D., & Carlson, G.E. Recognition of Facial expression in three cultures. Journal of cross-Cultural Psychology, 1980, 11, 263–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Darwin, C. The expression of emotion in animals and man. London: John Marray, 1872.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deregowski, J.B., Ellis, H.D., & Shepherd, J.W. Description of white and black faces by white and black subjects. International Journal of Psychology, 1975, 10, 119–123.Google Scholar
Ekman, P. Universals and cultural differences in facial expressions of emotion. In Cole, J.K. (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Vol.19). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1972.Google Scholar
Ekman, P. (Ed.). Darwin and facial expression. New York: Academic Press, 1973.Google Scholar
Ekman, P., Friesen, W.V., & Ellsworth, P. Emotion in human face. New York: Pergamon, 1972.Google Scholar
Ekman, P., & Friesen, W.V. Unmasking the face. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1975.Google Scholar
Ekman, P., & Oster, H. Facial expressions of emotion. Annual Review of Psychology, 1979, 30, 527–554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Izard, C.E. The emotions and emotion constructs in personality and culture research. In Cattell, R.B. (Ed.), Handbook of modern personality theory. Chicago: Aldine, 1969.Google Scholar
Izard, C.E. The face of emotion. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1971.Google Scholar
Kilbride, J.E., & Yarczower, M. Recognition of happy and sad facial expressions among Baganda and U.S. children. Journal of Cross-Cultural psychology, 1976, 7, 181–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kilbride, J.E., & Yarczower, M. Recognition and imitation of facial expressions: A cross-cultural comparison between Zambia and the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1980, 281–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rudden, M.R., & Frandsen, K.D. An intercultural test of the generality of interpretations of nonverbal cues. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 1978, 2, 410–425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schlosberg, H.A. A scale for the judgement of facial expressions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1941, 29, 497–510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spignesi, A., & Shor, R.E. The judgement of emotion from facial expressions, contexts, and their combination. Journal of General Psychology, 1981, 104, 41–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar