ウルフガング異人種表情解読テストを用いた,表情の認識の普遍性に関する検討 ; An examination of the universality in the recognition of facial expressions of emotion via the Wolfgang Interracial Facial Expression Test

This study aimed to examine the universality in the recognition of facial expressions of emotion via the Wolfgang Interracial Facial Expression Test (WIFET). The participants were 31 Japanese undergraduate students, whose ages ranged from 18 to 27 years. Regarding the tasks, participants selected emotional words (interest, happiness, surprise, sadness, anger, neutral, and contempt) appropriate for each facial expression. Regarding the facial expressions of black or mulatto male and female West Indians, differences in the rates of correct responses between this study (.57) and Wolfgang and Cohen's study (.68) were significant. Furthermore, regarding the facial expressions of white Anglo-Saxons, the differences in the rates of correct responses between this study (.65) and Wolfgang and Cohen's study (.79) were also significant. Whether the rates of correct responses were above chance level (1/7, 14.29%) for each facial expression were examined via a binomial test. There were nine, five, six, six, four, and six facial expressions of happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, contempt, and neutral, respectively. Of these, four, three, two, four, one, and four expressions were above chance level and beyond 70%, respectively. However, regarding the four facial expressions of interest, although three were above chance level, none were beyond 70%. The results of the differences in the rates of correct responses between this study and Wolfgang and Cohen's study suggest that the recognition of facial expressions of emotion are nonuniversal. Although, the results of whether the rates of correct responses were above chance level, and beyond 70% for each facial expression suggest that the recognition of facial expressions of happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, contempt, and neutral are universal to a degree. However, recognition of facial expressions of interest are non-universal. Future studies should use faces that contain only muscle movements related to universal emotions, with no extraneous movements. ; departmental bulletin ...