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Facial Expressions Are "Not Global"

Posted by kdawson on from the look-me-in-the-mouth dept.

An anonymous reader sends in a BBC report on new research out of Glasgow University, which detected differences in how facial expressions are read between Westerners and East Asians. Using eye tracking, the researchers determined that "people from different cultural groups observe different parts of the face when interpreting expression. East Asians participants tended to focus on the eyes of the other person, while Western subjects took in the whole face, including the eyes and the mouth." Interestingly, the researchers point out that the emoticons used online by the two groups reflect this difference.

6 of 137 comments (clear)

  1. They may not be by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    But bukaki facials are.

  2. Re:Took a PHD to figure this out? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Anyone playing a MMORPG is a tool, so they don't count.

  3. Never use open sores software by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Last night I accidentally downloaded a piece of software that I didn't realize was open sores software. After using it, I realized my penis was rotting away and I had a hankering to watch gay porn.

  4. all look same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    That's because East Asian faces all look the same. Duh.

  5. Indeed, the races are different. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    The study is flawed in assuming that Westerners cannot be ethnically Asian. The study should properly be called a study between Whites and Asians.

    Indeed, Whites and Asians are different. The reason that Asians tend to focus on the eyes is that darker skinned Asians tend not to indicate blushing wells whereas blushing is quite obvious among Whites. So, Whites focus on the whole face because blushing is starkly apparent when it occurs and because blushing is a form of communication.

    For that reason, fair-skinned Japanese should be lumped into the category of Whites, not Asians. The Japanese also focus on the whole face because when a Japanese blushes, the blushing shows up clearly on his face.

    Therein lies the biggest flaw in the study. It omits Africans. They are jet black and completely lack the ability to blush. I wager that Africans focus solely on the mouth because Africans tend to be violent. The motion of the mouth muscles clearly hints at thoughts of violence and warns the listener to flee.

    Being jet black, Africans lack a mode of communication (i. e., blushing) which Whites and, to a lesser extent, Asians have. Africans are really very different from the rest of humanity. Evolution has dictated this difference. It is not only a difference in IQ. It is a difference in human communication -- in humanity.

  6. oh really? by chode8 · · Score: -1, Troll

    "East Asians participants tended to focus on the eyes of the other person" oh really chinamen focus more on the feature that only opens 3/4 of the way? they could use floss to blindfold themselves. a little andrew dice clay there. but seriously this is no surprise. americans put a overwhelming amount of attention to smiling. Smiling in other parts of the world often means you're lying.