Abstract
Emotional facial expressions were thought to be universal and recognised inter-culturally. Research suggests that there are elements of facial expressions that are universal but many aspects are culture specific. This research studied the effect of Cultural Exposure on East Asians recognition of F.A.C.S emotional facial expressions and found no significant differences on accuracy compared to Western Caucasians. Significant differences were found on latency between Caucasians (Md = 35033) and East Asians (Md = 47024), U = 225, z = -3.172, p = .002, r = -.413. As the East Asians had lengthy exposure to Western Society but were slower on recognition than natives it is proposed that there may be a „critical period‟ of development where exposure is necessary to fully acclimatise to cultural differences. Author keywords: Cultural exposure, facial expressions, east Asian, western Caucasian, FACS
