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ABSTRACT: Substantial research has documented the universality of several emotional expressions. However, recent findings have demonstrated cultural differences in level of recognition and ratings of intensity. When testing cultural differences, stimulus sets must meet certain requirements. Matsumoto and Ekman's Japanese and Caucasian Facial Expressions of Emotion (JACFEE) is the only set that meets these requirements. The purpose of this study was to obtain judgment reliability data on the JACFEE, and to test for possible cross-national differences in judgments as well. Subjects from Hungary, Japan, Poland, Sumatra, United States, and Vietnam viewed the complete JACFEE photo set and judged which emotions were portrayed in the photos and rated the intensity of those expressions. Results revealed high agreement across countries in identifying the emotions portrayed in the photos, demonstrating the reliability of the JACFEE. Despite high agreement, cross-national differences were found in the exact level of agreement for photos of anger, contempt, disgust, fear, sadness, and surprise. Cross-national differences were also found in the level of intensity attributed to the photos. No systematic variation due to either preceding emotion or presentation order of the JACFEE was found. Also, we found that grouping the countries into a Western/Non-Western dichotomy was not justified according to the data. Instead, the cross-national differences are discussed in terms of possible sociopsychological variables that influence emotion judgments.
Cross-cultural research has documented high agreement in judgments of facial expressions of emotion in over 30 different cultures (Ekman, 1994), including preliterate cultures (Ekman, Sorensen, & Friesen, 1969; Ekman & Friesen, 1971). Recent research, however, has reported cultural differences in judgment as well. Matsumoto (1989, 1992a), for example, found that American and Japanese subjects differed in their rates of recognition. Differences have also been found in ratings of intensity (Ekman et al., 1987).
Examining cultural differences requires a different methodology than studying similarities. Matsumoto (1992a) outlined such requirements: (1) cultures must view the same expressions; (2) the facial expressions must meet criteria for validly and reliably portraying the universal emotions; (3) each poser must appear only once; (4) expressions must include posers of more than one race.
Matsumoto and Ekman's (1988) Japanese and Caucasian Facial Expressions of Emotion (JACFEE) was designed to meet these requirements. JACFEE was developed by photographing over one hundred posers who...