Contempt: One of the Seven Basic Emotions

Contempt is one of the seven basic emotions. It is the only one of the seven that is unilateral, occurring on just one side of the face. The definition of contempt is that it is an expression of moral superiority. For more information of its evolutionary vestige, triggers, functions and other associated nonverbal behaviors of…

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Helping Toddlers Understand Their Emotions

It wasn’t so long ago that the conventional wisdom was that babies were pretty much blobs who didn’t think or feel much before they could speak in words around the age of two. The idea that a six-month-old could feel fear or anger, no less sadness and grief, was preposterous. But thanks to an explosion…

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Dogs Show Empathy During Play

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…

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Do 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…

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