Cross-cultural differences in the development of emotion perception from face and voice between Japanese and Dutch speakers

Abstract

Recent studies have demonstrated cultural differences in multisensory emotion perception from faces and voices. Tanaka et al. (2010, Psychol. Sci.) showed that Japanese people are more tuned than Dutch people to vocal processing in adults. The current study investigated how such a cultural difference develops in children and adults. In the experiment, Japanese and Dutch participants observed affective expressions of both Japanese and Dutch actors. A face and a voice, expressing either congruent or incongruent emotions, were presented simultaneously on each trial. Participants judged whether the person is happy or angry. Results in incongruent trials showed that the rate of vocal responses was higher in Japanese than Dutch participants in adults, especially when in-group speakers expressed a happy face with an angry voice. The rate of vocal responses was very low and not significantly different between Japanese and Dutch 5-6-year-olds. However, it increased over age in Japanese participants, while it remained the same in Dutch participants. These results reveal the developmental onset of cultural differences in multisensory emotion perception.