Gender and job status as contextual cues for the interpretation of facial expression of emotion

Participants' interpretations of facial expressions of emotion and judgment s made about the poser as a function of gender, job status, and facial expr ession were examined. Two hypotheses regarding interpretation of expression stress either facial expression alone or a combination of facial expressio n and social context. Gender anti status of target were expected to influen ce ratings of emotion and personality characteristics. In a 2 x 2 x 3 betwe en-subjects design, 246 participants (90% non-Hispanic Whites) read a vigne tte of a workplace interaction manipulating gender and job status of target and viewed a slide of the target displaying a facial expression of emotion . Measures of perceived emotion and ratings of personality characteristics produced main effects and interactions in support of the context-specific h ypothesis: Gender and job status were significant influences on interpretat ion.