Yuki's Emoticon Study

• Aim

  To find out if there is a difference in interpretation of emotions in Japan and America
• Method


  6 emoticons were shown with different combinations of eyes and mouth - sad, neutral and happy. Participants were asked to rate the faces in terms of their happiness from 1-9
• Results

  The Japanese rated faces with the happier eyes as happier, whereas the Americans rated faces with the happier mouths as happier - even with sad eyes
• Conclusion

  There are cultural differences in the way we interpret facial expressions. Japanese people may use eyes to judge emotions as cultural norms lead to them hiding emotions - but its hard to control our eyes this way
• Weakness


  In everyday life we exhibit a range of emotions - not just happiness. Therefore these results cant be generalised for all emotions
• Weakness


  Emoticons leave out other key facial features that we use to judge emotions - like forehead wrinkles. However, research with human faces found similar results