Japanese and Americans Read Faces Differently

Yes, we’re going to get a little scientific and take a one post break from the usual low-brow humor.  This interesting article describes cultural differences as well as how Americans and Japanese tend to focus on faces differently.  So if you’ve ever wondered why Americans do : ) faces while the Japanese do (^_^) faces, you should give it a read.

Here are just a few examples:

: )   –>  (^_^)

: D  –>  (^O^)

: (   –>  (;_;)

:’ (  –>  (ToT)

Here are some reasons why they differ amongst different regions of the world:

-Americans tend to focus on the mouths for emotional cues
-Japanese tend to focus on the eyes for emotional cues
-Japanese tend to suppress their emotions when they’re in the presence of others.