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Show your teeth or not: The role of the mouth and eyes in smiles and its cross-cultural variations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2010

Chao Liu ,
Yue Ge ,
Wen-Bo Luo  and
Yue-Jia Luo
Chao Liu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. geyue818@163.comwenbo9390@sina.comLuoyj@bnu.edu.cnhttp://psychbrain.bnu.edu.cn/teachcms/luoyuejia.htm Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1109. Liuchao@umich.eduhttp://www-personal.umich.edu/~liuchao/index.html
Yue Ge
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. geyue818@163.comwenbo9390@sina.comLuoyj@bnu.edu.cnhttp://psychbrain.bnu.edu.cn/teachcms/luoyuejia.htm
Wen-Bo Luo
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. geyue818@163.comwenbo9390@sina.comLuoyj@bnu.edu.cnhttp://psychbrain.bnu.edu.cn/teachcms/luoyuejia.htm
Yue-Jia Luo
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. geyue818@163.comwenbo9390@sina.comLuoyj@bnu.edu.cnhttp://psychbrain.bnu.edu.cn/teachcms/luoyuejia.htm
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Abstract

Previous studies with Westerners have found that both the mouth and eyes are crucial in identifying and interpreting smiles. We proposed that Easterners (e.g., Chinese and Japanese) evaluate the role of the mouth and eyes in smiles differently from Westerners. Individuals in collectivistic Eastern society heavily rely on information from the eyes to identify and interpret the meaning of smiles.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 33 , Issue 6 , December 2010 , pp. 450 - 452
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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