Face and Expression

I found this site to be very simple but I liked the first line.

http://face-and-emotion.com/dataface/expression/expression.jsp

"Expression implies a revelation about the characteristics of a person, a message about something internal to the expresser."

I have noticed through homework exercises in my nonverbal communication class that we all share the same facial expressions, such as the seven universal expressions that Dr. Paul Ekman has identified. But I have also noticed that we as individuals add our own "twist" to that expression. Using myself as an example, I have very large teeth and usually find myself trying to cover them with my lips when I am displaying a "content" face. Because it is hard for me to make a content face, I have adjusted in some sort of way that shows what I am feeling but still allows me to me comfortable and confident in what expression I am displaying. Because my facial features want to leave my mouth slightly open when I am content, I have trained myself to be aware when this happens so I don't look like I'm lost in la-la land, daydreaming with my mouth open like perhaps a child would do. I also noticed a "tick" my husband does with his chin and that it underlying when he is making some emotional faces.


I like seeing unique things about people and their personalities so I'm sure I will be watching more and more when I see someone get emotional.

Happy Holidays WIth A Little Christmas Humor

Everybody needs a little holiday spirit...why not start off with some Christmas humor! 
Can you tell how this cat feels? Is he happy, sad, angry, excited? I'll leave that up to you to decide!

Happy Holidays!

I borrowed this picture from: 

http://www.itchmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/funny-pictures-my-happy-christmas-face.jpg

Global Emotion-It's Time To Start Understanding The Chinese

Train your brain to read and understand Chinese Faces!

Do you know what this young Chinese boy is thinking? It is hard to determine emotions across cultures and this video explains how to train yourself to read different faces in various cultures, such as China. The video goes on to say that it is hard to make business deals because you may never know what they are thinking, the obvious expression is not shown. It may not be as simple as having a huge smile on your face like Americans tend to do when showing that they are happy. 

Check out this video to learn more! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D05K82O18Q


I borrowed this picture from: 
http://newsinfo.iu.edu/pub/libs/images/usr/4791.jpg

When It Comes To Facial Expressions Humans Are Good Actors

This is a photograph my friend snapped of me. I naturally smiled when I saw her snapping the shot of me. My smiles makes me appear to be happy. However, I am actually not at all happy. I was on the phone with my boyfriend and we were in a huge fight. I was extremely frustrated and annoyed with him. I put on the smile for the picture to pretend that I was happy. If one were to look at the picture he or she would more than likely assume I was happy because of my facial expression. Facial expressions are not always true to the emotion that one is feeling. We as humans are particularly good actors when it comes to facial expressions. As this picture shows, it is fairly easy to cover up a how one really feels with a simple facial expression. 

Real or Computer Generated?

Watch this video and see if you think this person is really making these or is digitally enhanced.

                                30 Seconds, How many facial expressions?

The answer is A little of both. Computer taken images shown at high speed create an illusion that he is making them at that speed.

Need help "making faces"? Internet has plenty of options!

I don't believe this book was on the New York Times Best Seller list, but I still found it interesting that there are quite a few books related to facial expression for sale on internet sites such as Amazon. They provide a how to or a general guide to determining facial expressions. Most people, me included, would think it was a waste of money but I came to the realization that this book could be used by many different types of people; young, foreign, or even artists. Either way there are books out there that provide help on facial expressions! The link below is a book I found on Amazon.

                         Facial Expressions: A Visual Reference for Artists 

Another thing that I found to be interesting on the internet was all the "help" sites for beginning models. The sites show and tell the models how to exercise their face to help bring out the "right" expression when it comes time to be photographed. This website http://learnmorephoto.com/team-effort/tips-for-models/practicing-facial-expressions-pre-shoot-tips.php in particular offered a lot of tips for beginning models. This is an image of the "right" expression.

Dr. Paul Ekman

Paul Ekman is a famous doctor who has performed extensive research on facial expressions and emotion. He has written over 100 articles on emotions and facial expressions. He is the man who claims there are 7 universal facial expressions. Because of his extensive background in facial expression and emotional research some may consider him an expert. 

                                                         
This picture was borrowed from http://www.paulekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/pekman.jpg