Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Int J Psychol. 2011 Dec;46(6):401-35. doi: 10.1080/00207594.2011.626049.
Do members of different cultures express (or "encode") emotions in the same fashion? How well can members of distinct cultures recognize (or "decode") each other's emotion expressions? The question of cultural universality versus specificity in emotional expression has been a hot topic of debate for more than half a century, but, despite a sizeable amount of empirical research produced to date, no convincing answers have emerged. We suggest that this unsatisfactory state of affairs is due largely to a lack of concern with the precise mechanisms involved in emotion expression and perception, and propose to use a modified Brunswikian lens model as an appropriate framework for research in this area. On this basis we provide a comprehensive review of the existing literature and point to research paradigms that are likely to provide the evidence required to resolve the debate on universality vs. cultural specificity of emotional expression. Applying this fresh perspective, our analysis reveals that, given the paucity of pertinent data, no firm conclusions can be drawn on actual expression (encoding) patterns across cultures (although there appear to be more similarities than differences), but that there is compelling evidence for intercultural continuity in decoding, or recognition, ability. We also note a growing body of research on the notion of ingroup advantage due to expression "dialects," above and beyond the general encoding or decoding patterns. We furthermore suggest that these empirical patterns could be explained by both universality in the underlying mechanisms and cultural specificity in the input to, and the regulation of, these expression and perception mechanisms. Overall, more evidence is needed, both to further elucidate these mechanisms and to inventory the patterns of cultural effects. We strongly recommend using more solid conceptual and theoretical perspectives, as well as more ecologically valid approaches, in designing future studies in emotion expression and perception research.
不同文化的成员是否以相同的方式表达（或“编码”）情感？不同文化的成员能够识别（或“解码”）彼此的情感表达的程度如何？情感表达的文化普遍性与特异性问题半个多世纪以来一直是激烈争论的话题，但尽管迄今为止已经产生了相当数量的实证研究，仍未得出令人信服的答案。我们认为，这种不尽如人意的情况主要是由于缺乏对情感表达和感知所涉及的精确机制的关注，并提出使用改进的 Brunswikian 镜头模型作为该领域研究的适当框架。在此基础上，我们对现有文献进行了全面回顾，并指出了可能提供解决情感表达普遍性与文化特异性之争所需证据的研究范式。应用这种新视角，我们的分析表明，鉴于相关数据的缺乏，无法就跨文化的实际表达（编码）模式得出明确的结论（尽管似乎存在更多的相似之处而不是差异），但在解码或识别能力方面存在着跨文化的连续性的有力证据。我们还注意到，由于表达“方言”，关于内群体优势的概念的研究越来越多，超越了一般的编码或解码模式。我们还认为，这些实证模式可以通过潜在机制的普遍性以及这些表达和感知机制的输入和调节的文化特异性来解释。总体而言，需要更多的证据来进一步阐明这些机制，并列出文化影响的模式。我们强烈建议在设计情感表达和感知研究的未来研究时，使用更坚实的概念和理论观点以及更具生态有效性的方法。
