A Tale of Three Advantages: Cross-Cultural Recognition of Basic Emotions Through Virtual Stickers

Abstract

This study examined recognition of the six basic emotions communicated by 72 stickers provided on Chinese and American social media. Results demonstrate that sadness, happiness, and anger are recognized more accurately than disgust, fear, and surprise. An in-group advantage exists among Chinese instead of American participants, as the latter group recognizes emotions rendered by American and Chinese stickers with similar accuracy. Women outperform men in recognizing anger and fear expressed by stickers. A dynamic advantage manifests in recognizing anger, fear, and happiness rendered by animated stickers, in relation to static stickers. Three-way interaction effects show that emotions rendered by Chinese static stickers are more easily recognized compared to American static stickers. Moreover, women and Chinese participants recognize emotions rendered by Chinese and American animated stickers at similar accuracy levels. By contrast, men and American participants deliver better performances in recognizing emotions expressed by American animated stickers than Chinese animated stickers.