Learn About Displays of Emotion Through Facial Expressions

            The purpose of this blog is digging deeper into facial expressions, specifically focusing on the various types of emotions expressed. Displays of emotion through facial expression is a key aspect of nonverbal communication. There are several different types of emotions that one can display, but it is how we interpret and recognize those emotions that stimulate our nonverbal interactions. Nonverbal communication is based upon the person in particular, but more importantly, it is influenced by the social and cultural contexts where he or she currently resides. There are certain facial expressions, happy and sad, for example, which are known to be basic worldwide displays of emotion across cultures. There are single facial expressions that should be associated with exclusive physiological effects. If one looks happy, he or she should feel happy by displaying that particular emotion. Each society has learned to practice these displays of emotion that have more or less become like a tradition to each individual culture. Displays of emotions in encoding and decoding that are consistent across cultures refer to smiling, laughing, weeping, frowning, and eyebrow flash.

There are multiple reasons behind why we choose to display the emotions due to the way we are currently feeling at that moment in time. There may be responses or actions that trigger our emotions and how we choose to demonstrate it. It is easier to recognize emotional expressions during face-to-face encounters, but there are certain facets, such as technology that can hinder this experience. It is hard to determine the single emotion behind a text message without a facial expression symbol, such as a smiley face. We rely heavily upon displays of emotion during non-verbal and verbal communication. When faced with a situation of stagnant text, humans find a way to incorporate emotion in order to recreate a visual for nonverbal communication. Facial expressions are a prime example of how human needs for communication, relationships, and information are a necessity upon the several phases of interaction.