Raising Questions about the Recognition of
New “Universally Recognized” Facial Expressions
Sherri C. Widen,* Anita M. Christy, & James A. Russell
Boston College
Presented at the APS 21st Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA
Abstract
The Study
Haidt & Keltner (1999) added shame,
embarrassment, compassion, and contempt to the list
of basic emotions on the grounds that each has a
recognizable facial expression. In the current study
(N=88) recognition of the four expressions, when
assessed with forced choice, was moderate (mean =
58%), but forced choice can produce artifactual
agreement. Recognition assessed with free labeling
was low (mean = 18%); thus, 82% interpreted these
faces in a way other than the emotions proposed.
The purpose of the present study was to compare the
forced choice and free labeling response formats for
the four proposed new basic emotions.
sad
angry
Haidt & Keltner (1999) therefore also gave the
observers a free labeling task.
• For the new proposed basic emotions, results
were equivocal: mean 27%.
.6
*
*
.5
.4
.3
scared
surprised
disgusted
New Basic Emotions
embarrassed compassion
contempt
Figure 1. Facial expressions used in the current
study. From Haidt & Keltner (1999)
.8
Free Label
Forced Choice
*
.7
.6
*
.5
*
.4
*
.3
.2
.1
.1
.0
anger
disgust
• For anger, observers were significantly more
likely to select the expected label in free labeling
than in forced choice.
• For disgust, observers were significantly more
likely to select the expected label in forced choice
than in free labeling.
ashamed
Method
.9
.2
Figure 2. Proportion of observers who chose the
predicted label for the tradition six basic emotions.
• By this measure, the 4 new facial expressions
were moderately recognizable: mean 45%, which is
greater than chance.
• Different emotions are recognized in the same
face depending on the alternatives presented
(Russell, 1993, 1994).
.7
• For four of these emotions, performance was high
and there was no difference between the two
methods.
How is recognition established? Haidt and Keltner
(1999) began with a forced choice format: An
observer must select one and only one emotion from
a provided list.
Forced choice can, however, produce artifacts:
consensus on the “wrong” emotion.
.8
happiness surprise sadness
fear
Emotion
happy
1.0
Forced Choice
.0
• On this basis, many accept happiness, sadness,
anger, fear, surprise, and disgust as basic.
• To these, Haidt and Keltner (1999) added shame,
embarrassment, compassion, and contempt (Figure
1).
.9
Proportion Correct
Traditional Basic Emotions
Method
Free Label
1.0
Proportion Correct
Participants (N=88) labeled Haidt and Keltner’s
(1999) 10 facial expressions twice, once using forced
choice, once using free labeling.
Introduction
Which emotions are basic? One common way to
answer this question has been to ask: Which
emotions have recognizable facial expressions?
New Basic Emotions
Traditional Basic Emotions
Discussion
shame
contempt
embarrass
Emotion
compassion
Figure 3. Proportion of observers who chose the
predicted label for the four newly proposed basic
emotions.
• Forced choice replicated Haidt & Keltner’s
(1999) results. Indeed, our mean recognition
(58%) was higher than theirs (45%).
• In contrast, free labeling yielded little evidence
of recognition (18%). Our results were lower than
Haidt & Keltner’s (27%).
•The response-format x facial-expression (10 faces)
interaction was significant, F(9, 783) = 25.29, p <
.001.
References
Forced choice and free labeling produce significantly
different results regarding the recognizability of an
emotion for a face.
Haidt, J. & Keltner, D. (1999). Culture and facial
expression: Open-ended methods find more expressions
and a gradient of recognition. Cognition & Emotion, 13,
225-266.
Free labeling does not support the hypothesis that
shame, embarrassment, compassion, and contempt
have recognizable facial expressions.
Russell, J. A. (1993). Forced-choice response format in the
study of facial expression. Motivation and Emotion, 17, 4151.
Russell, J. A. (1994). Is there universal recognition of
emotion from facial expression? A review of the crosscultural studies. Psychological Bulletin, 155, 102-141.
* Contact Sherri Widen: [email protected]