By Virginia Morell for Science Now Laugh and your best friend will probably join in. Her face will also instantly mimic your mirthful expression. Scientists call this emotional contagion (it also happens when someone yawns), and regard it as a basic form of empathy—the ability to experience what someone else is feeling. But humans aren’t…
Read MoreDo They Really Like Their Christmas Present?
Giving and receiving Christmas gifts can be a stressful nightmare but how can you tell if someone really liked their gift? In a survey of 2,000 Brits, 65% of people confessed to pretending to like a gift to avoid hurting someone’s feelings. The graphic above shows the body language signals to look for to see…
Read MorePast Blog: Emotions in Gift Giving
The holidays are right around the corner: can you tell if someone likes their gift just by reading their facial expressions? In light of this holiday season, the University of Hertfordshire has conducted a study on gift giving. The focus of this study was determining whether or not gift givers could tell whether or not…
Read MoreIn Texting, Punctuation Conveys Different Emotions. Period.
By Christina Passariello for the WSJ Technology is changing language, period. The use of a period in text messages conveys insincerity, annoyance and abruptness, according to a new study from the State University of New York Binghamton. Omitting better communicates the conversational tone of a text message, the study says. As with any study by…
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