Background.

Identification of emotional facial expressions (EFEs) is important in interpersonal communication. Six ‘universal’ EFEs are known, though accuracy of their identification varies. EFEs involve anatomical changes in certain regions of the face, especially eyes and mouth. But whether other areas of the face are just as important in their identification is still debated. This study was conducted to compare the accuracy of identification of universal EFEs under full-face and partial face conditions (only showing the eyes and the mouth regions).

Methods.

An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 140 young Indian adults. They were divided into two equal groups and shown the six universal EFEs in two sets, one with full-face images, and the other with images showing just the eyes and the mouth regions on a computer screen. The participants were asked to identify each of the EFE and their responses were analyzed.

Results.

Mean age was 21.3 1.7 years for full face group, and 21.2 1.6 years for the partial face group. Most were men, from rural areas and from upper socioeconomic status families, and many of them were students. EFE identification was significantly higher for part-face group compared to full-face group (p-value .0007). Participants of both groups identified happiness the best (100%). For other EFEs, part-face images were identified more accurately than full-face images, except for disgust. These differences were statistically significant except for anger and fear.

Conclusions.

Among young Indian adults, accuracy of identification of universal EFEs was high, which was significantly enhanced for all except disgust, when only combinations of eyes and mouth were shown, suggesting that other facial regions serve as distractors in EFE identification.

Key Messages.

1. Identification of universal EFEs was higher from partial faces (combination of eyes and mouth) as compared to full-face EFEs for all emotions except disgust. 2. This suggests that other regions of face serve as potential distractors in the identification of emotions, except for disgust, where these regions provide more information.

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