with yet another person. In short, this second face is the one you control. Finally, you
have the face that is changed by your surroundings and the messages you receive, such
as when you involuntarily blush after receiving a compliment.
Among scholars, the importance of facial expressions is well established.
Richmond, McCroskey, and Hickson summarize this importance when they write,
“Experience and research have helped us to understand that the human face is a
primary tool used for transmitting emotional expressions.”^63 Theroleofculturein
those expressions has been a matter of debate for a great many years. The dispute
is rooted in a nature–nurture controversy that goes back to the work of Charles
Darwin. Although much of the debate deals with facial expressions, the arguments
reach into all dimensions of nonverbal communication. Here lies the question: Is
there a universal language of facial expressions? Darwin posited, and researchers
such as Eibl-Eibesfeldt uphold, that“some primary facial expressions are inherently
linked with moods and feelings”and have their origin in our evolutionary past and
are universal.^64 Ekman, a principal proponent of this view, asserts that,“The subtle
creases of a grimace tell the same story around the world, to preliterate New Guinea
tribesmen, to Japanese and American college students alike.”^65 Further, Ekman and
others affirm that there is“a basic set of least six facial expressions that are innate,
universal, and carry the same basic meaning throughout the world.”^66 The six pan-
cultural and universal emotions conveyedby facial expressions are happiness, sad-
ness, fear, anger, disgust, and surprise. However, despite the biologically based
nature of facial expressions, there seem to be clear cultural expectations and norms
that often dictate when, where, how, and to whom facial expressions are
displayed.^67
Different cultures create their own rules for what are appropriate facial expressions
and how those expressions are to be interpreted. While granting the assorted causes
behind human behavior, we advocate that nonverbal communication mirrors the
learned behaviors embedded in a culture. Richmond, McCroskey, and Hickson offer
a summary of how these acquired behaviors grow out of the cultural factors:
1.Cultures differ concerning circumstances that elicit emotions.
2.Cultures differ about the consequences that follow certain emotional expressions.
3.Different cultures have different display rules that govern the use of facial behav-
ior, which their members must learn.^68
Each culture“teaches”its members what nonverbal actions to exhibit (crying or
laughing), the meaning of those actions (sadness or happiness), and the contextual
setting of those actions (funeral or wedding).
Because the face is often the first part of the body observed when you meet some-
one, usually it is given greater weight than are vocal messages.^69 Think for a moment
about what is being implied about the power of the face with phrases such as“face-
to-face”meeting or“losing face.”People usually send messages, consciously or uncon-
sciously, that predict a course of action, help define power relationships, or reflect a
level of interest and the degree of involvement regarding the specific encounter.
A few years ago, the world was treated to a vivid example of how facial expressions
impact intercultural communication. A group of executives from the Toyota automo-
bile company appeared before a congressional panel in the United States to explain
the problems associated with the recall of over 6 million Toyota vehicles. The execu-
tives’presentation before the panel was criticized by members of the congressionalBody Movement 313Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).