"The movements convey the emotional state of an individual to observers."
The use of the face to convey emotions or attitudes, such as smiling or frowning.
Emotions: Understanding the basic emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust, and how they are expressed through facial expressions.
Microexpressions: These are tiny, fleeting facial expressions that last only a fraction of a second, and provide a momentary insight into someone's emotions or thoughts.
Universal facial expressions: Certain facial expressions are universally recognized, regardless of culture or ethnicity. This includes the six basic emotions mentioned above.
Cultural differences: While some facial expressions are universal, others may differ depending on the culture or context of the situation.
Gender differences: There may be differences between how men and women express emotions through facial expressions, and how they perceive and interpret others' facial expressions.
Facial Action Coding System (FACS): FACS is a tool used to identify and code specific facial movements and expressions that are used to convey emotions and thoughts.
Nonverbal communication: Facial expressions are just one aspect of nonverbal communication, which also includes body language, tone of voice, and gestures.
Deception: Facial expressions can indicate when someone is lying or hiding something.
Autism: People on the autism spectrum may have difficulty with recognizing and interpreting facial expressions.
Training and practice: Learning to recognize facial expressions and interpret nonverbal communication takes practice and training. Techniques include watching videos, taking courses, and working with a coach or therapist.
Smile: Expressed happiness, pleasure, and friendliness.
Frown: Indicates sadness, anger, and disapproval.
Raised eyebrows: Displays surprise, confusion, and curiosity.
Wide eyes: Expressed fear, excitement, and astonishment.
Squinted eyes: Shows skepticism, disgust, and suspicion.
Pouted lips: Displays unhappiness and sulking.
Tongue sticking out: Indicates teasing or being silly.
Blushing: Displays embarrassment or shyness.
Clenched jaw: Shows frustration and anger.
Dilated pupils: Expressed interest or arousal.
Scratching your head: Displays confusion or perplexity.
Nodding head: Indicates agreement or acknowledging.
Shaking head: Shows disagreement or displeasure.
Rolling eyes: Shows irritation and disbelief.
Tight-lipped smile: Shows forced politeness and insincerity.
"They also occur in most other mammals and some other animal species."
"Voluntary facial expressions are often socially conditioned... Conversely, involuntary facial expressions are believed to be innate."
"The amygdala is highly involved in the recognition process."
"Aspects such as blinking rate can possibly be used to indicate whether a person is nervous... eye contact is considered an important aspect of interpersonal communication."
"Many phrases in sign language include facial expressions in the display."
"Supporters of the Universality Hypothesis claim that many facial expressions are innate... Opponents... believe that facial expressions are conditioned."
"Opponents of this view question the accuracy of the studies used to test this claim... people view and understand facial expressions from the social situations around them."
"Some psychologists have the ability to discern hidden meaning from a person's facial expression."
"A 2020 study... found that even when study participants attempted to make neutral facial expressions, their faces still retained emotion residue from prior expressions."
"Memory for faces that were initially shown with angry expressions was found to be poorer when these faces had averted as opposed to direct gaze... memory for individuals shown with happy faces was unaffected by gaze direction."
"There are cultural differences regarding the social propriety of maintaining eye contact or not."
"The Amygdala is the integrative center for emotions, emotional behavior, and motivation."
"Facial expressions are a form of nonverbal communication."
"The neural mechanisms responsible for controlling the expression differ in each case. Voluntary facial expressions follow a cortical route in the brain, while involuntary facial expressions follow a subcortical route."
"They are a primary means of conveying social information between humans."
"Aspects such as blinking rate can possibly be used to indicate whether a person is nervous or whether they are lying."
"It is suggested that memory for another individual's face partly depends on an evaluation of the behavioral intention of that individual."
"Facial recognition can be an emotional experience for the brain, and the amygdala is highly involved in the recognition process."
"Some psychologists have the ability to discern hidden meaning from a person's facial expression."