Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Therapy, School of Health Science, Kyushu University of Health and Welfare
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of shading parts of faces on the intensity ratings offacial expressions of emotion. The participants were 72 undergraduate students whose age ranged from18 to 31 years. The stimulus materials were photographs of faces showing six basic emotions (happiness,sadness, surprise, disgust, anger, fear) and copies of photographs in which the upper or lower parts ofthese faces were shaded. The models in the photographs were 6 Japanese men and 6 Japanese women.The participants\u27 task was to rate intensities for each photograph using a seven-point scale in terms ofthe six basic emotions. The mean ratings of happiness were significantly higher than ratings of all otheremotions when presented with the whole face (6.31), the upper parts (5.11), or the lower parts (6.28) infacial expression of happiness. The mean ratings of sadness were significantly higher than ratings of allother emotions when presented with the whole face (5.67), the upper parts (5.10), or the lower parts (4.51)in facial expression of sadness. The mean ratings of surprise were significantly higher than ratings of allother emotions when presented with the whole face (6.19), the upper parts (5.35), or the lower parts (5.26)in facial expression of surprise. The mean ratings of disgust (fear) were not significantly higher thanratings of all other emotions when presented with the whole face, the upper parts, or the lower parts infacial expression of disgust (fear). The mean ratings of anger were significantly higher than ratings of allother emotions when presented with the whole face or the upper parts in facial expression of anger. Themean ratings of anger were significantly lower than ratings of sadness when presented with the lowerparts in facial expression of anger. The results suggest that: 1) Facial expressions of happiness, sadness,and surprise are not confused with other facial expressions of emotions; 2) The stimuli which are ratedas disgust (fear) when presented with the whole face in facial expression of disgust (fear) must be used inthe future
