[Individual differences in the perception of facial expression: the relation to sex difference and cognitive mode]

The present study investigated the relation between the perceptual task of facial expression, sex difference and cognitive mode. Subjects were 55 male and 26 female Japanese students. Material slides were made from Ekman and Friesen (1975), which represent six type of basic facial emotion. Cognitive mode was measured by CMQ-R (Cognitive Mode Questionnaire-Revised) standardized by Ida and Sakano (1988). (1) In facial recognition task (judging the emotional content each stimulus face represents), female advantage, especially in negative emotion such as fear, disgust and sadness, was shown as previous studies. Cognitive mode was not related to this task. (2) In intensity rating task for facial expressions, two type of emotional faces expressing surprise and sadness were rated less intensive than the other four types. However, as for these two types, the male-high scoring group in "imagery and imagination" scale rated more intensive than the male-low scoring group. The result suggests that cognitive mode had relation to this intensity rating task.