Many attempts have been made to examine the commonalities and differences in the ways that emotions are produced and perceived across human cultures. However, typically, this question has been investigated by asking adults to pose certain facial expressions, which often results in intense and stereotyped displays, not reflective of the emotions people express in daily life. It remains unknown whether the spontaneous emotional expressions that humans encounter are expressed and recognized universally across cultures. In this study, we examine how children (8-12-years-old) and adults in Japan and the Netherlands experience, express, and recognise spontaneously-evoked emotions. First, we induce emotions through validated videos, while recording participants’ facial expressions and self-reported emotional experiences. Second, we show an independent group of observers the recordings of participants’ emotional displays, and ask them to indicate the emotions the individual in the video experienced. By comparing Dutch and Japanese children and adults, we can examine cultural specificity in the production and recognition of “real” emotions.

The adult data for all parts of the study have already been collected in both the Netherlands and Japan. The child data for the first part of the study (emotion production) have also been collected in both countries. Students will assist in the second part of the study (emotion recognition) with Dutch children, while our Japanese collaborators will conduct the same study with Japanese children.

This project offers students access to a unique dataset that includes facial expressions, emotion ratings, and self-report measures across two cultures and age groups. Students will be encouraged to design their own research questions based on their interests. This project is suitable for both Research Project 1 and Research Project 2 students.

A good command of Dutch is essential for supporting data collection with children. Familiarity with R is considered an advantage.