Are you always sure you know what people mean when they try to describe their feelings to you? We use both words and gestures to express our feelings, but the problem is that these words and gestures can be interpreted in different ways. 

It is true a smile means the same thing in any language. So does laughter or crying. There are also a number of striking similarities in the way different animals show the same feeling. Dogs, tigers and humans, for example, often show their teeth when they are angry. This is probably because such behaviour patterns are inherited rather than learned. 

Fear is another emotion that is shown the same way all over the world. However, “he opened his eyes wide” is used to convey anger in Chinese, whereas in English it suggests surprise. In Chinese, surprise can be described in a phrase like “they stretched out their tongues”. On the contrary, sticking out your tongue in English is an insulting gesture or expresses disgust.

Even in the same culture, people differ in their ability to interpret and express feelings. Experiments in America have shown that women are usually better than men at recognising fear, anger, love and happiness in people’s faces. Disgust, contempt and suffering seem to be the most difficult emotions for people everywhere either to recognise or to express. Other studies have shown that older people usually find it easier to interpret body language than young people do. 

 

Source: EYSENCK, M. (ed). (1998). Psychology - An Integrated Approach. Consulting date, 20 January 2008 

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