Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

354 CHAPTER 8 Motivation and EmotionHappiness Surprise Sadness Anger Disgust FearBasic Emotions and Universal FacialExpressions Paul Ekman and hiscolleagues have precisely calibrated themuscles used in facial expressions for basicemotions. When photographs like theseare shown to people in a wide variety ofcultures, they recognize the basic emotionsthat are being expressed.children (Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1973; Goodenough, 1932). Similarly, the spontaneous facialexpressions of children and young adults who were born blind do not differfrom those of sighted children and adults (Galati & others, 2003, 1997).Culture and Emotional ExpressionFacial expressions for the basic emotions seem to be universal across different cultures(Waller & others, 2008). Ekman (1982) and other researchers showed photographsof facial expressions to people in 21 different countries. Despite theirdifferent cultural experiences, all the participants identified the emotions beingexpressed with a high degree of accuracy (see Ekman, 1998). Even the inhabitantsof remote, isolated villages in New Guinea, who had never been exposed tomovies or other aspects of Western culture, were able to identify the emotionsbeing expressed. Other research has confirmed and extended Ekman’s originalfindings (see Elfenbein & Ambady, 2002; Frank & Stennett, 2001).Some specific nonverbal gestures, which are termed emblems, vary across cultures.For example, shaking your head means “no” in the United States but “yes” in southernIndia and Bulgaria. Nodding your head means “yes” in the United States, but inJapan it could mean “maybe” or even “no way!” Nevertheless, some body languageseems to be universal (see photos below).However, in many situations, you adjust your emotional expressions to make themappropriate in that particular social context. For example, even if you are deeplyangered by your supervisor’s comments at work, you might consciously restrainyourself and maintain a neutral facial expression. How, when, and where we displayour emotional expressions are strongly influenced by cultural norms. Cultural differencesin the management of facial expressions are called display rules (Ekman & others,1987; Ambady & others, 2006).Consider a classic experiment in which a hidden camera recorded the facialexpressions of Japanese and Americans as they watched films that showed grislyimages of surgery, amputations, and so forth (Ekman & others, 1987; Friesen, 1972).When they watched the films alone, the Japanese and American participants displayedvirtually identical facial expressions, grimacing with disgust and distaste at the gruesomescenes. But when a scientist was present while the participants watched the films, theJapanese masked their negative facial expressions of disgust or fear with smiles. Why? InExpressing Emotion in Universal BodyLanguage Embarrassment is expressed bya characteristic sequence of physical responses:The person averts his gaze; givesa controlled, sheepish smile; moves hishead down and to the left; shifts his gazeagain; displays another sheepish smile; andagain looks off to the side. People frommany different cultures, including India,Japan, and the United States, both displayand recognize these nonverbal behaviorsas indicating embarrassment (Keltner &Anderson, 2000; Keltner & Buswell, 1997).