The process of paying attention to facial expressions begins when we are babies trying to communicate with our parents. We learn mirror their expressions and what they mean.
I recently made a study of identifying the body language of facial expressions and have found it to be incredibly useful when it comes to figuring out what’s on someone’s mind.
It’s really interesting when you start paying close attention to a person’s subtle facial expressions and what they are saying. Are they always consistent? Body language signals always trump what someone says.
Facial expressions are displayed VERY quickly so you won’t always have a lot of time to interpret them. The more you astutely observe them, the better you get at picking up the overall emotion.
Here are some common emotions and the facial expressions that represent them:
Sadnes — The eyelids droop as the inner corners of the brows rise and, in extreme sadness, draw together. The corners of the lips pull down, and the lower lip may push up in a pout.
Shocked — The upper eyelids and brows rise, and the jaw drops open.
Frustrated — Both the lower and upper eyelids tighten as the brows lower and draw together. Intense anger raises the upper eyelids as well. The jaw thrusts forward, the lips press together, and the lower lip may push up a little.
Hate- – This is the only expression that appears on just one side of the face: One half of the upper lip tightens upward.
Grossed Out — The nose wrinkles and the upper lip rises while the lower lip protrudes.
Afraid – The eyes widen and the upper lids rise, as in surprise, but the brows draw together. The lips stretch horizontally.
Joyful — The corners of the mouth lift in a smile. As the eyelids tighten, the cheeks rise and the outside corners of the brows pull down.
Obviously there are tons more and variants of each, but you get the general idea. Are there any other expressions you can think of that are easy to recognize that convey emotions?
-Gary
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