Influence of the Cultural Group of the Target and Wearing a Mask on Eye Gazing During Facial Expression Perception: Examination of Japanese Population

ABSTRACT Research indicates that attentional focus in interpreting facial expressions' emotions varies based on individuals' cultural backgrounds. Westerners tend to attend to both the eyes and mouth, while Easterners primarily focus on the eyes. However, it remained uncertain if these gaze patterns also depended on the cultural background of the facial expressor. In this investigation, 23 Japanese university students in Japan were shown facial expressions from German, Chinese, and Japanese individuals. Their emotion perception accuracy and gaze responses were meticulously measured, while exploring the impact of a sanitary mask worn by the expressor. Results revealed that in the presence of a mask, observers' gaze gravitated towards the eyes, leading to reduced emotion perception accuracy. Surprisingly, cultural distinctions did not influence the accuracy of emotion perception or gaze responses in the participants. This suggests a fixed, unchanging strategy in assimilating visual information while interpreting emotions from facial expressions.