Age and culture effects on the ability to decode affect bursts

Abstract

This paper investigates the ability of adolescents (aged 13–15 years) and young adults (aged 20–26 years) to decode affective bursts culturally situated in a different context (Francophone vs. South Italian). The effects of context show that Italian subjects perform poorly with respect to the Francophone ones revealing a significant native speaker advantage in decoding the selected affective bursts. In addition, adolescents perform better than young adults, particularly in the decoding and intensity ratings of affective bursts of happiness, pain, and pleasure suggesting an effect of age related to language expertise.