If there are universal emotions and expressions, does that mean there are universal gestures? This is exactly what Humintell’s Dr. David Matsumoto and Dr. Hyisung C. Hwang sought to answer in a 2012 study which sought to conduct a groundbreaking and comprehensive analysis on international differences in gestures. In order to answer this, they compiled…
Read MoreBasic Emotions and Cultural Differences
Despite the universal nature of many basic emotions and types of emotions, it is pretty clear that cultural differences exist, but why? It certainly would be simplistic to think that all emotional expressions are the exact same around the world, despite the existence of basic emotional expressions across cultures. In fact, a major 2015 study…
Read MoreSmelling Feelings?
If something smells awful, it’s because it’s disgusting, right? Maybe, but the truth is a little bit more complicated. A recent study found that our immediate olfactory reactions to stimuli are heavily influenced by the emotional reactions of other people. This suggests that when we smell something bad, we may be picking up on people’s…
Read MoreRecognizing Friend from Foe
Why does your face look so different from mine? This blog has spent a great deal of time talking about various methods of facial recognition, as well as its relationship to emotional recognition. An important part of this question rests in the vast diversity of human faces that we come into contact with. We need…
Read More