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Given that facial expressions and other nonverbal behavior play a key role in the development and maintenance of social relations (Ambady & Weisbuch, 2010; Keltner & Kring, 1998), we would expect to find both cross-cultural and cross-species similarities in emotional expressions. As noted above, for at least six primary expressions, humans are consistently able to accurately identify the underlying emotion. However, there are several situations in which people are less consistent in correctly reading facial expressions. One is the case of blended emotions, wherein an expression reflects more than one emotion (Ekman et al., 1987; Ekman et al., 1969), such as fear and surprise or disgust and contempt. Although researchers have discovered cross-cultural agreement in the identification of secondary emotions, these rates are somewhat lower than for primary emotions (Ekman et al., 1987). Second, the presence of emotion dialects—slight variations in specific displays of emotion between cultures—can reduce accuracy in emotion recognition across cultures (Elfenbein & Ambady, 2002). For instance, a tongue-bite is indicative of embarrassment in India but not in the United States (Haidt & Keltner, 1999).

A third limitation of human facial perception is in the difficulty people have in unmasking feelings and thoughts that the target seeks to hide. As Ekman and Friesen’s (1971) study of disgust expressions among Japanese and American men demonstrated, cultures vary in their display rules, thereby interfering with the decoding or interpretation of facial expressions and other nonverbal behavior (Kafetsios, Andriopoulos, & Papachiou, 2014). Differences in the display of negative emotions have been also found between Costa Ricans and Americans (Stephan, Stephan, & de Vargas, 1996) and in the expression of contempt, disgust, fear, and sadness among whites, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos in the United States (Matsumoto, 1993).

Blended Emotions: Wherein an expression reflects more than one emotion

Decoding: Interpretation of facial expressions and other nonverbal behaviour