Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T16:22:31.197Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Show your teeth or not: The role of the mouth and eyes in smiles and its cross-cultural variations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2010

Chao Liu ,
Yue Ge ,
Wen-Bo Luo  and
Yue-Jia Luo
Chao Liu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. [email protected]@[email protected]://psychbrain.bnu.edu.cn/teachcms/luoyuejia.htm Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1109. [email protected]://www-personal.umich.edu/~liuchao/index.html
Yue Ge
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. [email protected]@[email protected]://psychbrain.bnu.edu.cn/teachcms/luoyuejia.htm
Wen-Bo Luo
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. [email protected]@[email protected]://psychbrain.bnu.edu.cn/teachcms/luoyuejia.htm
Yue-Jia Luo
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. [email protected]@[email protected]://psychbrain.bnu.edu.cn/teachcms/luoyuejia.htm
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Previous studies with Westerners have found that both the mouth and eyes are crucial in identifying and interpreting smiles. We proposed that Easterners (e.g., Chinese and Japanese) evaluate the role of the mouth and eyes in smiles differently from Westerners. Individuals in collectivistic Eastern society heavily rely on information from the eyes to identify and interpret the meaning of smiles.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 33 , Issue 6 , December 2010 , pp. 450 - 452
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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

Adolphs, R., Gosselin, F., Buchanan, T. W., Tranel, D., Schyns, P. & Damasio, A. R. (2005) A mechanism for impaired fear recognition after amygdala damage. Nature 433(7021):68–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Adolphs, R. & Tranel, D., eds. (2000) The amygdala. A functional analysis. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Adolphs, R., Tranel, D., Damasio, H. & Damasio, A. R. (1994) Impaired recognition of emotion in facial expressions following bilateral damage to the human amygdala. Nature 372(6507):669–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernstein, M. J., Young, S. G., Brown, C. M., Sacco, D. F. & Claypool, H. M. (2008) Adaptive responses to social exclusion: Social rejection improves detection of real and fake smiles. Psychological Science 19(10):981–83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blairy, S., Herrera, P. & Hess, U. (1999) Mimicry and the judgment of emotional facial expressions. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 23(1):5–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iacoboni, M., Molnar-Szakacs, I., Gallese, V., Buccino, G., Mazziotta, J. C. & Rizzolatti, G. (2005) Grasping the intentions of others with one's own mirror neuron system. PLoS Biology 3(3):529–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Iacoboni, M., Woods, R. P., Brass, M., Bekkering, H., Mazziotta, J. C. & Rizzolatti, G. (1999) Cortical mechanisms of human imitation. Science 286(5449):2526–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jack, R. E., Blais, C., Scheepers, C., Schyns, P. G. & Caldara, R. (2009) Cultural confusions show that facial expressions are not universal. Current Biology 19(18):1543–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keysers, C. & Gazzola, V. (2007) Integrating simulation and theory of mind: From self to social cognition. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 11(5):194–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liu, C., Ge, Y., Mai, X. & Luo, Y. (under review) Eyes are windows to the Chinese soul: Evidence from the detection of real and fake smiles.Google Scholar
Maringer, M., Krumhuber, E., Fischer, A. H. & Niedenthal, P. M. (in press) Beyond smile dynamics: Mimicry and beliefs in judgments of smiles. Emotion.Google Scholar
Marshall, J. (2003) The canonical Smiley (and 1-line symbol) list. Available at: http://www.astro.umd.edu/~marshall/smileys.html.Google Scholar
Pollack, A. (1996) Happy in the East (^_^) or smiling in the West:-). The New York Times, August 12, 1996, p. D5.Google Scholar
Smith, M. L., Cottrell, G. W., Gosselin, F. & Schyns, P. G. (2005) Transmitting and decoding facial expressions. Psychological Science 16(3):184–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
xinhuanet. (2008) The mystery of the small points in those ancient ladies' face at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony. Available at: http://cul.shangdu.com/recommend/20080811-10249/index.shtml.Google Scholar
Yuki, M., Maddux, W. W. & Masuda, T. (2007) Are the windows to the soul the same in the East and West? Cultural differences in using the eyes and mouth as cues to recognize emotions in Japan and the United States. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 43(2):303–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar