Literature Review: Universal Facial Expressions in Cultural Contexts

This literature review examines the historical evolution and cultural context of universal facial expressions and their relation to emotions. It begins by tracing the understanding of facial expressions from early human communication to modern psychology. The review analyzes various research articles, including studies on micro-expressions, cultural variations in interpreting facial expressions, and the impact of globalization on emotional expression. It also addresses counter-arguments regarding the universality of facial expressions, considering factors such as cultural differences and the influence of technology. The review concludes by emphasizing the importance of understanding these expressions in social interactions and the potential for future research in areas like robotics and cross-cultural communication. Desklib provides access to similar literature reviews and study resources for students.

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
Historical evidence suggests that almost three thousand years ago when the evolution of the
language was in its nascent stage, human beings were able to identify six facial expressions.
During this point of time, the human race was mainly communicating with these six
expressions and unaware of the interpretation of the micro-expressions (Lawrence, 2015).
With the passage of time, primitive humans associated these expressions with emotions and
the concept of universal facial expression came into existence (Mellor,2013). Almost three
hundred years ago, the evolution of psychology as a mainstream subject draws the attention
of the experts towards the real meaning of the universal facial expressions (Matsumoto,
2010).
Right now when psychology has become an advanced and practicing science, experts are
utilizing these universal expressions in deciphering the hidden subconscious messages of
humans with the help of this universal facial expression in connections with emotions and
other medical conditions (Rice 2015).
These human expressions are vital because they play a crucial role in the social interactions
of the individuals. The current literature review is an attempt to encapsulate this cumulative
journey of universal facial expressions and display of emotions in a cultural context. (Avery,
2016) The spectrum of this literature review will check the connotations of universal
expressions in a different cultural context and connect them with the advanced learning of
psychology as a science (Shen, 2012).
Literature Review
Hatsumoto, D. (2011). Reading facial expressions of emotion. American Psychological
Association, https://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2011/05/facial-expressions.

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
This article was published in one of the most reputed journals in the field of psychology; it is
a distinctive piece of writing because it talks about a seventh expression discovered by the
researchers. It also explains the concept of the micro-expressions that reflect the mixed
mindset of a person. The study of the facial expressions has emerged as an organized science;
with the help of this article, one can also explore the application of the science of universal
expression in life. Any research program seeking to develop a framework for a systematic
study of the journey of universal expression can get interesting leads from this write-up. This
work of literature also talks about the gaps between the interpretation of the expression and
the real intentions behind them. We can explore this area further by the study of the micro-
expressions. The study of the microexpressions can further open a new area of research for
the aspirants, as we have already seen that some researchers are working towards the
explanation of a seventh expression to express a mix of emotions.
Rachel, J. (2012). Facial expressions of emotion are not culturally universal. Psychological
and Cognitive Sciences, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3358835/.
Developed by Rachel Jack, this research report gives us an account of the facial expressions
and their interpretations as they vary in different cultures. This research report compares the
interpretation of the facial representation under various clusters of the human race during the
Stone Age. The journey of facial expression and their interpretations follows different
milestones of development. The range count of the temporal dynamics also changes in this
journey. The findings of this research allow us to explore the journey of universal expressions
and their relativity with emotions. This cluster base analysis gives us an idea that how the
interpretation of the expression changed during primitive times and carried out a legacy of
development attached to it. The cultural context associated with facial expressions has

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
become an important area of study in the present world where a new globalized culture is all
set to make an entry.
Grendon, M. (2014). Perceptions of Emotion from Facial Expressions are Not Culturally
Universal: Evidence from a Remote Culture. HHS Publication,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4752367/.
The homogeneity of the environment based upon the elements of the popular culture has this
potential to pollute the ingrained virtues associated with the human expression of the human
emotions with the help of universal expressions. This study supports a two culture approach,
where the cultures are distinctive in nature. A list of matching expression with similar
connotations can help us in redefining the universal expressions under a different light. This
research report completes the circle of communication by defining the emotional perceptions
generated through universal expressions.
This research presents some findings based upon the multidimensional scaling of the
empirical facts and gives us some conclusions that can be considered as the next level
conclusions in the field of universal expression based researches.
Malcony, D. (2014). Facial Expressions Aren't As Universal As Scientists Have Thought.
Popular Science, https://www.popsci.com/article/science/facial-expressions-arent-
universal-we-thought.
This article based on the findings of some prominent research scholars may help us in
developing a counter-argument of the research that we are planning to carry forward. The
presence of a counter-argument can keep a check on the variables of the research. The
content of this article connects some of the research findings of the ’70s with present-day
researches. This research is more of a systematic literature review where they promoted many

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
arguments like the performance of the Robots is better and static in the task of the
identification of the emotions because humans are lousy about the expressions and rely more
on the supporting words.
This counter-argument will help us in adding a validity into our research program, it will
strengthen the validity of the assumptions that we will develop during various phases of the
research with an intention to answer the research questions.
This article also covers an interesting observation about the future of the emotions and its
impact over the universal language of expressions. The reading of this article can be very
fruitful while conceiving the discussion part of our research program because the information
given here can act as a lead into the future. The world is heading towards an era where
instead of emotions, individuals are relying more on emoticons, and this development can
change the expressions and their connotations drastically. This piece of literature will help us
in understanding the key areas related to the change.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Mishra, Maruti. "Cross-cultural emotion recognition and evaluation of Radboud face
database with an Indian sample." PIOS One (2018):
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0203959.
The universality of the expressions is an issue of debate; right now many researchers are
taking the support of big databases to study this fact. The research report presented by Maruti
Mishra and his associates gives us an account of these advance researches. One of the biggest
advantages of these empirical findings is related to the fact that here we can study and
compare the micro expressions more eloquently and discuss the cross-cultural variables more
profoundly. This research report allows us to find similar and variable expression in a cultural

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
specific setup. As a sample, the researchers worked upon, American, Japanese and Indian
subjects.
Mellor, D. (2013). Facial emotion recognition: a cross-cultural comparison of Chinese,
Chinese living in Australia, and Anglo-Australians. Springer,
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-013-9383-0.
Facial expressions and their connection with the emotions evolve because of the cultural
influences or it is a part of the human evolution with a passage of time. The research work
presented by Mellor explores both the possibilities. The population sample of the Chinese
immigrant works as a backdrop of this empirical study that deals with variances between the
Chinese set of expressions and Caucasian set of expressions connected with various types of
emotions.
The output of this research challenges the classic methods of exploring the displays of
emotion and their connection with the expression. The finding of this research indicates the
limitation of these methods. Another important area of this research is related to the divergent
nature of the expressions as we study them for a different culture.
Certain principles like “Nature v/s Nurture” can also be applied to the variances caused by
the culture. This report also advocates the concept of the application of big data research
where the researchers can study them on the merits of the patterns. This type of study will
help them in finding out some results that can be generalized with great ease. The findings of
this research also connect human emotion based communication with the robotics and this
type of a connection can add commercial viability in these type of research programs and
support it as an independent subject as well.

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
References
Avery SN, Vandercook RM, Heckers S, Blackford JU. Impaired face recognition is
associated with social inhibition. Psychiatry research. 2016;236:53–7. Epub
2016/01/19. pmid:26776300; PubMed Central PMCID: PMCPMC4747684.
Grendon, M. (2014). Perceptions of Emotion from Facial Expressions are Not Culturally
Universal: Evidence from a Remote Culture. HHS Publication,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4752367/.
Hatsumoto, D. (2011). Reading facial expressions of emotion. American Psychological
Association, https://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2011/05/facial-expressions.
Malcony, D. (2014). Facial Expressions Aren't As Universal As Scientists Have Thought.
Popular Science, https://www.popsci.com/article/science/facial-expressions-arent-
universal-we-thought.
Mellor, D. (2013). Facial emotion recognition: a cross-cultural comparison of Chinese,
Chinese living in Australia, and Anglo-Australians. Springer,
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-013-9383-0.
Mellor, D., Carne, L., Shen, Y.-C., McCabe, M., & Wang, L.-W. (2013). Stigma toward
mental illness: A cross-cultural comparison. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44,
352–364. doi: 10.1177/0022022112451052.

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
BIBLIOGRAPHY Mishra, Maruti. "Cross-cultural emotion recognition and evaluation of Radboud face
database with an Indian sample." PIOS One (2018):
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0203959.

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
Rachel, J. (2012). Facial expressions of emotion are not culturally universal. Psychological
and Cognitive Sciences, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3358835/.
Rice LM, Wall CA, Fogel A, Shic F. Computer-Assisted Face Processing Instruction
Improves Emotion Recognition, Mentalizing, and Social Skills in Students with ASD. J
Autism Dev Disord. 2015;45(7):2176–86. Epub 2015/02/20. pmid:25694364.
Lawrence K, Campbell R, Skuse D. Age, gender, and puberty influence the development of
facial emotion recognition. Front Psychol. 2015;6:761. Epub 2015/07/03.
pmid:26136697; PubMed Central PMCID: PMCPmc4468868.
Matsumoto, D., Hee Yoo, S., & Chung, J. (2010). The expression of anger across cultures.
In M. Potegal, G. Stemmler, & C. Spielberger (Eds.), International handbook of
anger. New York: Springer.
Shen X-b, Wu Q, Fu X-l. Effects of the duration of expressions on the recognition of
microexpressions. Journal of Zhejiang University Science B. 2012;13(3):221–30.
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