Facial Expressions: The Emotional, Fascinating World of Sports
Something to bring a smile to your face in 2012
Photos By Zack Pumerantz Courtesy of Bleacherreport.com
(Click here to link to a slide show)
*Note from Dr. Matsumoto: It’s important to realize that while the picture above may bring a smile to your face, it is most likely not a genuine picture of emotion. Expressive behaviors such as the one above are likely recruited to facilitate goal-directed behaviors that require exertion, and thus are not necessarily emotional reactions. They could be emotion-like or close to it, but they’re probably not emotions per se.
Hot Spotting: Practice Makes Perfect
Many of our viewers have expressed an interest in seeing more real-life video examples of facial expressions of emotion, and microexpressions in general.
We’ve taken the time in this blog post to compile some past blogs which feature video footage where you can practice your deception detection skills.
Don’t forget that we’re also open to suggestions. If there is a video that you would like us to take a look at, don’t hesitate to contact us. Your suggestion may even become the feature of our next blog post!
Microexpression Examples
Chris Brown on Good Morning America
Hot Spotting
Balloon Boy, Salahis, Scott Peterson
Gestures
Emotion
Left Vs Right: The Complexity of the Brain
New research is shedding light on how the left analytical and right creative hemispheres of the human brain work together in processing our visual world.
The fascination of how the brain process objective information is not new to the scientific scene. Many TV shows such as Lie to Me and court drama series have been zeroing in on this via micro facial expressions of emotion and body language.
Assistant professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College, Ming Meng has come up with some interesting findings in regards to the brain’s organization of these two categories and the possible role they play in autism.
Meng uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), computer vision, and psychophysics to delve into the function of the brain and the processes of our visual world.
EurekaAlert.com commented on Meng and his colleague’s reserach, which was published on January 4th in the Proceedings of Royal Society B (online edition). Meng’s research focused on how the brain is organized to process visual information particularly the human face.
“We needed to study the full spectrum; the stimuli that make an image look like a face but not necessarily a face. These results would show the subtle differences between the left and right side of the brain as they dealt with this range of images.” Meng noted. Looking at how the brain processes faces is Meng’s key to unlocking the mysteries of the left brain/right brain paradigm.
The findings of his study as well as similar studies on the face shed light into the complex world of autism, people with face processing deficits, which also make understanding and recognizing emotions difficult. Meng posits that the reason for social interaction problems especially among autistic children could be a problem with face perception.
“Our results suggest the left side of the brain is processing the external physical input which resolves into a ‘grey scale’ while the right brain is underlying the final decision of whether or not it is a face.”
What are your thoughts on this study? Do you think it is compounding upon new information or just restating old facts?
Do you know Right from Wrong?
New research is trying to bridge the gap between how rationality and emotion influence moral choices by combining brain scanning technology with moral psychology experiments.
Harvard Magazine reports on how Hazel associate professor and experimental psychologist and neuroscientist, Joshua Greene is shedding light on this debate.
Greene posits that rationality and emotion are recruited according to the circumstances, with each offering its own advantages and disadvantages.
A simple metaphor Greene equates with rationality and emotion is to that of the camera. He states, “The nice thing about the overall design of the camera is that it gives you the best of both worlds: efficiency in point-and-shoot mechanisms and flexibility in manual mode. The trick is to know when to point and shoot and when to use manual mode. I think that this basic design is really the design of the human brain.”
Green went on to delineate that rationality, unlike “manual mode” on a camera, cannot function independently of emotion, “Reason by itself doesn’t have any ends, or goals. It can tell you what will happen if you do this or that, and whether or not A and B are consistent with each other. But it can’t make the decision for you.”
Greene hopes that people may one day improve the judgements they make by learning more about the neurological mechanisms of moral decision-making.
To find out more on the details of his experiments click here.
Emotion: The Sixth Sense
Research by Tilburg University scientists, in the Netherlands, reveals insight into the brain’s ability to interpret the outside world.
Blind-sight: A phenomena where some blind people can “see” emotions in others faces was analyzed. The research revealed that some emotions are deeply rooted in our brain and not just available to our visual sense of sight.
In September, we wrote a blog entitled “Eyeless Emotions“ about this research by Tilburg scientists. Watch the video below to learn more about this fascinating revelation.
Thanks to Non-Verbal.info for the video idea!
The Social Ladder
The University of Michigan conducted three studies on the cooperativeness and nonverbal expressions in leadership positions in group dynamics.
Lead author Patricia Chen, a psychology graduate student at Michigan stated, “Our studies show that the effects of rank on cooperativeness spill over into the individual’s nonverbal cues, which are not only picked up by observers, but also lead them to act differently towards the individual.”
These results, according to Health Canal.com, show that less cooperative-looking people are not necessarily selected into higher-ranked organizations. Rather, situational cues of these positions evoke hierarchical facial expressions.
In one of the studies the results showed that the higher the rank of the business school, the less cooperative the dean appeared (in a photograph).
What does this mean for people higher up on the corporate ladder?
Well, if followers do not perceive a leader as cooperative, they tend to be less motivated, committed and open in their communication. “Leaders need to be aware that their ranking might spill over into their facial expressions when they interact with others in the organization, affecting what others think of their cooperative intentions,” said co-author Christopher Myers, a doctoral student in the Ross School of Business.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year from Humintell- we wish everyone the best in 2012 and thank you for your continuous support!
Microexpression Tracking Software
Facial expression recognition software development is becoming the new concentration of computer sciences.
Researchers from Oxford University as well as Oulu University (Finland) are developing software that can detect an individual’s micro facial expressions.
Microexpressions are concealed signs of emotion that flash on and off a face when a person is trying to hide their emotions. According to Vision Systems Design this product can be used to train government and airport officials to detect suspicious behavior.
While having the ability (or software) to recognize micro facial expressions is one thing, it is a completely different thing to use that information to detect deception and uncover the truth.
Dr. Matsumoto affirms that microexpressions are not indicators of lying but are clues that a person is hiding something and there is more to the story than is being conveyed.
Fear with Confidence
Fear and confidence go hand in hand. This might sound like an oxymoron, but new research suggests that it is in fact true.
A sociologist from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania led a study on men’s outward display of confidence while experiencing fear. The study focused on mixed martial art competitors.
According to newswise, the findings, which appear in the December issue of American Sociological Association’s Social Psychology Quarterly, purport that successful management of fear may “create an emotional orientation that primes men to subordinate and harm others.”
Co-author of the study Dr. Christian A. Vaccaro goes on to state, “By signifying masculine selves through evoking fear and shame in others, such men are likely to more easily secure others’ deference and accrue rewards and status. Managing emotional manhood, whether it occurs in a locker room or boardroom, at home or the Oval Office, likely plays a key role in maintaining unequal social arrangements.”
The researchers affirm that managing emotional manhood, a term used in their study, “ is an interactional strategy for managing emotion and a means for conveying a social identity to others.”
To learn more about fear read this article from the Association of Psychological Sciences (aps) on existential fear.
Happy Holidays From Humintell
Wishing You a Wonderful Holiday Season!
We thank you for your support and for being a loyal customer.
We would not be able to continue to expose the fascinating world of facial expressions of
emotion and nonverbal behavior without your support.
We wish you the very best Holiday Season!
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