American-Japanese Differences in Multiscalar Intensity Ratings of Universal Facial Expressions of Emotion

This study reanalyzes American and Japanese multiscalar ratings of universal facial expressions originally collected by Matsumoto (1986), of which only single emotion scales were analyzed and reported by Matsumoto and Ekman (1989). The nonanalysis of the entire data set ignored basic and important questions about the nature of judgments of universal facial expressions of emotion. These were addressed in this study. We found that (1) observers in both cultures perceived multiple emotions in universal facial expressions, not just one; (2) cultural differences occurred on multiple emotion scales for each expression, not just the target scale; (3) the directions of those differences differed according to the rating scale used and the expression being observed; and (4) no underlying dimension was evidenced that would account for these differences. These findings raise new questions about the nature of the judgment process and the role of judgment studies in supporting the universality thesis, the bases of which need to be explored in future research and incorporated in future theories of emotion and universality.