The DOI matches its Crossref record; 57 of the 59 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Perceptions of emotion from facial expressions are not culturally universal: Evidence from a remote culture
Open accessAbstract
It is widely believed that certain emotions are universally recognized in facial expressions. Recent evidence indicates that Western perceptions (e.g., scowls as anger) depend on cues to U.S. emotion concepts embedded in experiments. Because such cues are standard features in methods used in cross-cultural experiments, we hypothesized that evidence of universality depends on this conceptual context. In our study, participants from the United States and the Himba ethnic group from the Keunene region of northwestern Namibia sorted images of posed facial expressions into piles by emotion type. Without cues to emotion concepts, Himba participants did not show the presumed "universal" pattern, whereas U.S. participants produced a pattern with presumed universal features. With cues to emotion concepts, participants in both cultures produced sorts that were closer to the presumed "universal" pattern, although substantial cultural variation persisted. Our findings indicate that perceptions of emotion are not universal, but depend on cultural and conceptual contexts.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Algorithm AS 136: A K-Means Clustering Algorithm
Hartigan, J. A., & Wong, M. A. (1979) · Applied Statistics · doi:10.2307/2346830 · Cited by 14,523
Amazon's Mechanical Turk: A New Source of Inexpensive, Yet High-Quality, Data?
Buhrmester, M., Kwang, T., & Gosling, S. D. (2011) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691610393980 · Cited by 9,996
Constants across cultures in the face and emotion.
Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1971) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0030377 · Cited by 5,509
A Statistical Method for Evaluating Systematic Relationships
Sokal, R. R., & Michener, C. D. (1958) · Biodiversity Heritage Library (Smithsonian Institution) · doi:10.5281/zenodo.16435756 · Cited by 4,432
Autonomic nervous system activity in emotion: a review
Kreibig, S. D. (2010) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.03.010 · Cited by 3,188 · cited 1×
“…not natural kinds, particularly in light of emerging evidence that central (Lindquist, Wager, Kober, Bliss-Moreau, & Barrett, 2012) and peripheral (Kreibig, 2010) measurements do not reveal consistent, diagnostic markers of distinct emotional states (Barrett, 2006) and that consistency in brain…”
Aldenderfer, M. S. (1984) · Cited by 2,502
The brain basis of emotion: a meta-analytic review
Lindquist, K. A., Wager, T. D., Kober, H., Bliss-Moreau, E., & Barrett, L. F. (2012) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x11000446 · Cited by 2,320
Self-citationUniversals and cultural differences in facial expressions of emotion.
Ekman, P. (1972) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 2,273
On the universality and cultural specificity of emotion recognition: a meta-analysis
Elfenbein, H. A., & Ambady, N. (2002) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.128.2.203 · Cited by 2,049
Barrett, L. F. (2006) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1745-6916.2006.00003.x · Cited by 1,859
Self-citationWhat do people think they're doing? Action identification and human behavior.
Vallacher, R. R., & Wegner, D. M. (1987) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.94.1.3 · Cited by 1,802
Russell, J. A. (1994) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.115.1.102 · Cited by 1,640 · cited 2×
“These studies indicate that evidence for “universality” appears to be conditional on the experimental methods being used (cf. Russell, 1994), pointing toward a more nuanced model of emotion perception in which culture and language are key to constructing emotional perceptions.”
What is Meant by Calling Emotions Basic
Ekman, P., & Cordaro, D. T. (2011) · Emotion Review · doi:10.1177/1754073911410740 · Cited by 1,506
Ekman, P., & Oster, H. (1979) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.ps.30.020179.002523 · Cited by 1,228
Barrett, L. F., Mesquita, B., & Gendron, M. (2011) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0963721411422522 · Cited by 995
Self-citationInnate and universal facial expressions: evidence from developmental and cross-cultural research.
Izard, C. (1994) · Psychological bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.115.2.288 · Cited by 949
Facial expressions of emotion are not culturally universal
Jack, R. E., Garrod, O. G. B., Yu, H., Caldara, R., & Schyns, P. G. (2012) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1200155109 · Cited by 940
Psychological universals: what are they and how can we know?
Norenzayan, A., & Heine, S. J. (2005) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.131.5.763 · Cited by 820
Cross-cultural recognition of basic emotions through nonverbal emotional vocalizations
Sauter, D. A., Eisner, F., Ekman, P., & Scott, S. K. (2010) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0908239106 · Cited by 789
Language as context for the perception of emotion
Barrett, L. F., Lindquist, K. A., & Gendron, M. (2007) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2007.06.003 · Cited by 762
Self-citationBarrett, L. F., & Satpute, A. B. (2013) · Current Opinion in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/j.conb.2012.12.012 · Cited by 695
Self-citationIn bad taste: evidence for the oral origins of moral disgust
Chapman, H. A., Kim, D. A., Susskind, J. M., & Anderson, A. K. (2009) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1165565 · Cited by 691
Gur, R. C., Šára, R., Hagendoorn, M., Marom, O., Hughett, P., Macy, L., Turner, T. H., Bajcsy, R., Posner, A., & Gur, R. E. (2002) · Journal of Neuroscience Methods · doi:10.1016/s0165-0270(02)00006-7 · Cited by 663
Expressing fear enhances sensory acquisition.
Susskind, J. M., Lee, D. H., Cusi, A., Feiman, R., Grabski, W., & Anderson, A. K. (2008) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn.2138 · Cited by 595
Barrett, L. F. (2012) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/a0027555 · Cited by 503
Self-citationValence focus and arousal focus: Individual differences in the structure of affective experience.
Barrett, L. F. (1995) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.1.153 · Cited by 488
Self-citationGrounding emotion in situated conceptualization
Wilson‐Mendenhall, C. D., Barrett, L. F., Simmons, W. K., & Barsalou, L. W. (2010) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.12.032 · Cited by 472
Self-citationAmerican-Japanese cultural differences in intensity ratings of facial expressions of emotion
Matsumoto, D., & Ekman, P. (1989) · Motivation and Emotion · doi:10.1007/bf00992959 · Cited by 448
A functional architecture of the human brain: emerging insights from the science of emotion
Lindquist, K. A., & Barrett, L. F. (2012) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2012.09.005 · Cited by 426
Self-citationElfenbein, H. A., Beaupré, M. G., Lévesque, M., & Heß, U. (2007) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/1528-3542.7.1.131 · Cited by 411
Emotion words shape emotion percepts.
Gendron, M., Lindquist, K. A., Barsalou, L. W., & Barrett, L. F. (2012) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/a0026007 · Cited by 357
Self-citationThe Future of Psychology: Connecting Mind to Brain
Barrett, L. F. (2009) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1745-6924.2009.01134.x · Cited by 347
Self-citationUniversals and Cultural Differences in Recognizing Emotions
Elfenbein, H. A., & Ambady, N. (2003) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/1467-8721.01252 · Cited by 333
Language and the perception of emotion.
Lindquist, K. A., Barrett, L. F., Bliss‐Moreau, E., & Russell, J. A. (2006) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/1528-3542.6.1.125 · Cited by 326
Self-citationWhat Are Emotion Expressions For?
Shariff, A. F., & Tracy, J. L. (2011) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0963721411424739 · Cited by 322
What do i think you're doing? Action identification and mind attribution.
Kozak, M. N., Marsh, A. A., & Wegner, D. M. (2006) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.90.4.543 · Cited by 275
What’s in a Word? Language Constructs Emotion Perception
Lindquist, K. A., & Gendron, M. (2013) · Emotion Review · doi:10.1177/1754073912451351 · Cited by 248
Self-citationFacial expressions of emotion: What lies beyond minimal universality?
Russell, J. A. (1995) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.118.3.379 · Cited by 239
和多田, 淳. (1993) · Journal of Japan Society for Fuzzy Theory and Intelligent Informatics · doi:10.3156/jfuzzy.5.2_292_2 · Cited by 239
Emotion perception, but not affect perception, is impaired with semantic memory loss.
Lindquist, K. A., Gendron, M., Barrett, L. F., & Dickerson, B. C. (2014) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/a0035293 · Cited by 199
Self-citation(2008) · Cited by 193
Spunt, R. P., & Lieberman, M. D. (2011) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.10.005 · Cited by 154
Differentiation in preschooler's categories of emotion.
Widen, S. C., & Russell, J. A. (2010) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/a0019005 · Cited by 147
Zaki, J., Hennigan, K. M., Weber, J., & Ochsner, K. N. (2010) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0382-10.2010 · Cited by 143
Cultural Relativity in Perceiving Emotion From Vocalizations
Gendron, M., Roberson, D. D., van der Vyver, J. M., & Barrett, L. F. (2014) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797613517239 · Cited by 143
Self-citationRoberson, D. D., Davidoff, J. B., & Braisby, N. (1999) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/s0010-0277(99)00013-x · Cited by 136
Self-citationAirport security: Intent to deceive?
Weinberger, S. (2010) · Nature · doi:10.1038/465412a · Cited by 134
The psychological construction of emotion
Barrett, L. F. (2011) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e634112013-014 · Cited by 133
Self-citationCategorical perception of facial expressions: Evidence for a “category adjustment” model
Roberson, D., Damjanovic, L., & Pilling, M. (2007) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/bf03193512 · Cited by 117
Self-citationTesting an associative account of semantic satiation
Tian, X., & Huber, D. E. (2010) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.cogpsych.2010.01.003 · Cited by 63
Widen, S. C., Christy, A. M., Hewett, K., & Russell, J. A. (2010) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2010.508270 · Cited by 57
Empathy and emotion recognition in semantic dementia: A case report
Calabria, M., Cotelli, M., Adenzato, M., Zanetti, O. O., & Miniussi, C. (2009) · Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2009.02.009 · Cited by 54
The conceptual act theory: a road map
Barrett, L. F., Wilson‐Mendenhall, C. D., & Barsalou, L. W. (2014) · Cited by 54
Self-citationGordon, A. D., Coxon, A. P. M., & Davies, P. M. (1983) · Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series D (The Statistician) · doi:10.2307/2987947 · Cited by 51
Culture and the Expression of Emotion
Sorenson, E. R. (1975) · Mouton eBooks · doi:10.1515/9783110802818.361 · Cited by 43
Reduced Distractibility in a Remote Culture
de Fockert, J. W., Caparos, S., Linnell, K. J., & Davidoff, J. B. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0026337 · Cited by 34
Credibility Assessment at Portals
Honts, C. R., & Hartwig, M. (2014) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-394433-7.00002-6 · Cited by 10
Flagged first, then by citations
2 of the 59 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Tomkins SS Affect, Imagery, Consciousness 1962 Vol. 1 New York Springer
- Tomkins SS Affect, Imagery, Consciousness 1963 Vol. 2 New York Springer
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Emotional expressions reconsidered: Challenges to inferring emotion from human facial movements
Barrett, L. F., Adolphs, R., Marsella, S., Martinez, A. M., & Pollak, S. D. (2019) · Psychological Science in the Public Interest · doi:10.1177/1529100619832930 · Cited by 1,748
Self-citationThe theory of constructed emotion: an active inference account of interoception and categorization
Barrett, L. F. (2016) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsw154 · Cited by 1,426
“…with other animals, when there is ample evidence from linguistics, anthropology and psychology that these categories do not offer a robust, universal framework for comparing humans of different cultures (Russell, 1991; Gendron et al. , 2014a,b, 2015; Wierzbicka, 2014; Crivelli et al. , 2016).”
Self-citationThe theory of constructed emotion: an active inference account of interoception and categorization
Barrett, L. F. (2017) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsx060 · Cited by 950
“…humans with other animals, when there is ample evidence from linguistics, anthropology and psychology that these categories do not offer a robust, universal framework for comparing humans of different cultures (Russell, 1991; Gendron et al., 2014a,b, 2015; Wierzbicka, 2014; Crivelli et al., 2016).”
Self-citationSiegel, E. H., Sands, M. K., Van den Noortgate, W., Condon, P., Chang, Y., Dy, J., Quigley, K. S., & Barrett, L. F. (2018) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000128 · Cited by 515
Self-citationThe role of language in emotion: predictions from psychological constructionism
Lindquist, K. A., MacCormack, J. K., & Shablack, H. (2015) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00444 · Cited by 467
Metadata
- Authors
- Gendron, M., Roberson, D., van der Vyver, J. M., & Barrett, L. F.
- Affiliations
- Northeastern University (US)
- University of Essex (GB)
- Venue
- Emotion
- Published
- 2014
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 251-262
- ISSN
- 1528-3542 (ISSN-L)
- 1931-1516
- PMC
- PMC4752367
- OpenAlex
- W1975731691
- Cited by
- 463
- References
- 59
- Citations by year
- 2026: 31 · 2025: 45 · 2024: 39 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 42 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 75 · 2018: 38 · 2017: 34 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 5
- FWCI
- 37.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Emotion (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Open Access at Essex (University of Essex) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (DP1OD003312)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Categorization, perception, and language
- Keywords
- facial expressions, emotion perception, cultural universality, cross-cultural comparison, Himba, emotion concepts, emotion classification
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Culture, Emotions, Facial Expression, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Namibia, Perception, United States
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
