Research on the Different Meanings of Facial Expressions under Various Cultural Backgrounds

Abstract

The application of analytical and holistic thinking in the field of social neuroscience has been extensively explored by philosophers and psychologists from different cultures. Research has revealed the neural substrates of self-awareness processing. Whether there are differences in facial expressions across different cultures has been debated for 100 years. In the last 30 years, much research has supported both arguments with empirical evidence. Research on cultural differences in facial expressions is not systematic or complete. By analyzing the differences in facial expressions in different races, this paper aims to explore whether there are significant differences in facial expressions among various cultural backgrounds. By analyzing the differences in facial expressions in different races, this paper aims to explore whether there are significant differences in facial expressions among various cultural backgrounds. After reviewing the previous literature, we concluded that, despite some minor differences in emotional facial expressions reported in east Asian culture versus the western counterpart, most valid published papers found non-significant cross-cultural differences in major facial expression types.