2009/08/27

Facial expressions not global臉部表情並非全球一致

◎鄭寺音

A new study suggests that people from different cultures read facial expressions differently. East Asian participants in the study focused mostly on the eyes, but those from the West scanned the whole face.

新研究顯示,來自不同文化的人,對臉部表情會有不同解讀,研究中來自東亞的參與者大部分注意眼睛,西方人則會掃視全臉。

In the research carried out by a team from Glasgow University, East Asian observers found it more difficult to distinguish some facial expressions. The work published in Current Biology journal challenges the idea facial expressions are universally understood.

在這份格拉斯哥大學進行的研究中,東亞觀察者對分辨部分臉部表情較感困難。這份刊登於當代生物學期刊的研究報告,挑戰臉部表情各地解讀都一樣的觀念。

In the study, East Asians were more likely than Westerners to read the expression for "fear" as "surprise", and "disgust" as "anger".

研究中,東亞人比西方人更容易把害怕解讀成驚訝,討厭解讀成憤怒。

The researchers say the confusion arises because people from different cultural groups observe different parts of the face when interpreting expression. East Asians participants tended to focus on the eyes of the other person, while Western subjects took in the whole face, including the eyes and the mouth.

研究人員說,之所以產生這種混淆,是因為來自不同文化族群的人,解讀表情時,觀察臉部的不同部位。東亞參與者較專注於眼睛,西方人則觀察全臉,包括眼睛與嘴巴。

新聞辭典

distinguish:動詞,分辨。例句:I sometimes have difficulty distinguishing Spanish from Portuguese.(我有時候不太能分辨西班牙文與葡萄牙文。)

arise:動詞,產生。例句:Should the opportunity arise, I’d love to go to China.(如果有機會,我很願意去中國。)

take sth in:片語,觀看(電影與表演等)。例句:I thought we might get something to eat and then take in a movie.(我原本以為我們可能會吃點東西然後看電影。)

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