Recognizing spontaneous facial expressions of emotion in a small-scale society of Papua New Guinea.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional perception study (level assigned by non-clinical design analogy)
PubMed 27736108 · doi:10.1037/emo0000236
What was done
Two studies evaluated how Trobriand residents of Papua New Guinea interpreted five spontaneous facial expressions (representing happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, and disgust) originally photographed by Ekman from Fore individuals. In Study 1, 32 Trobrianders (aged 14 to 17 years) provided free-word descriptions along with valence and arousal ratings. In Study 2, 24 Trobrianders (aged 12 to 14 years) evaluated the same five photographs in a forced-choice task selecting from a short list.
What was found
Agreement with Ekman's predicted labels was low across both studies. In Study 1 (free description), agreement ranged from 0% to 16% of observers. In Study 2 (forced choice), agreement ranged from 13% to 38% of observers.
Why it matters
This study challenges the universality thesis of basic emotion recognition by showing low recognition rates for spontaneous facial expressions within non-Western, small-scale societies.
Limits
The total sample was small (56 participants across two studies) and limited to adolescents (ages 12 to 17). The stimulus set was restricted to only five static photographs originally published in 1980, without dynamic or contextual cues.
Cited by
- supports Paul Ekman proposed six basic universal emotions recognized across cultures from facial expressions: happiness, surprise, fear, anger, disgust, and sadness.