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02 Anthropology

Masks and Universal Emotion

Humans process experiences through an array of emotions.

Researchers studying human behavior have raised the question of how universal these emotions truly are and if people of one culture can identify emotions expressed by those of a different culture.

Some anthropologists believe that people can recognize specific emotions merely by observing facial expressions.

They also claim that these emotions are truly universal and recognizable worldwide.

Charles Darwin was the first to suggest a theory stating that humans express and recognize basic emotions in identical ways, since all human faces are similar in skeletal and muscular structure.

Yet, to what degree of similarity do people display emotion?

Can people from different backgrounds recognize the same emotion in spite of the chasm between cultures?

Researchers Paul Ekman and Carroll Izard conducted a ground-breaking study asking individuals to identify the emotions displayed in a set of photographs.

They presented photos of people experiencing certain emotions and also ones of actors simulating feelings.

They wanted to see if participants from different cultural groups could identify the portrayed emotion.

Most who viewed the pictures identified the correct emotion regardless of native culture.

Thus, emotions speak across languages and cultural groups.

They appear to be inherent in human nature and are not confined to income, culture, or circumstance.

Another compelling theory takes these findings a step further.

Each culture has art forms that are related to a specific territory or era in its history.

These art forms illustrate the prevailing characteristic of the people within the society.

The art form used in this study was a wooden mask.

Psychologist Joel Aronoff compared two wooden masks, one that was fashioned to look threatening and one with non-threatening features.

The facial elements on each mask were markedly varied in proportion and design, and Aronoff studied these elemental designs comprising the faces of the two masks.

Masks purposefully made to lock threatening were likely used to frighten off evil spirits.

Thus, the eyebrows and eyes faced inward and downward.

The mouth faced downward as well.

This type of disguise typically had pointed heads, ears, chins, and beards.

Geometrically, the threatening features were angular and created on diagonal lines.

On the other hand, non-threatening masks used in rituals such as a courtship dance had softer features with curved elements on the face.

The face of a baby does not appear threatening, but a face with a pointed beard tends to intimidate.

Therefore, it is not only the facial features that convey emotion, but also the geometric placement and angle that offer a clue to the emotion being expressed artistically.

To further illustrate the theory, an American university asked students to associate adjectives with abstract designs.

The designs incorporated angles and curves, such as artistic lines and the letters “V” and “U”.

They reported that people viewed the angled designs of the letter “V” as less friendly, yet more powerful than the curved shape of the letter “U”.

The overwhelming evidence points to the universality of emotion, crossing over cultural and other limitations, and the uncanny ability of humans to understand what others in their species are feeling.