The extent to which human facial expressions are universal and cross-culturally recognizable has been the subject of considerable debate. Two approaches have been used in studies of facial expressions: the judgment approach entails showing examples of facial expressions to various cultures or groups of people and determining whether they interpret a facial expression as signifying the same or a different emotion; the components approach studies whether the actual components of facial expressions shown in two or more cultures are the same or different. Two studies were conducted to determine if accuracy in decoding facial expressions was a function of the number of possible choices provided to the receiver. It was hypothesized that the number of alternative choices of emotions provided to receivers was inversely related to the accuracy of identifying facial expressions. One hundred eighty-five undergraduate college students were presented with still black-and-white photographs displaying various facial expressions and asked to score them according to five forms that differed in the number of alternative emotions presented to the subjects. Results from both studies supported the hypothesis and suggested that facial expressions are not inherently identifiable but are a function of the choices available to receivers. (HOD)