A recent study published in the Journal of Neuroscience caught my attention because it touches on a question that has fascinated me for more than four decades: How can infants understand their mothers and caregivers long before they understand language? This question has been with me since my undergraduate days at the University of Michigan.…
Read MoreFacial Expressions and the Science of Nonverbal Cues
For decades, facial expressions have often been viewed as direct reflections of emotion—a smile means happiness, a frown means frustration, and a grimace signals discomfort. While emotions certainly play a role, emerging neuroscience suggests the story is far more sophisticated. Recent research is revealing that facial expressions are not simply emotional outputs. Instead, they are…
Read MoreMaster the Science of Nonverbal Behavior
What if everything you thought you knew about emotions was only half the story? In this opening episode of the Nonverbal ACEs Masters Series, Dr. David Matsumoto — one of the world’s foremost authorities on emotion science, cross-cultural psychology, and the universality of facial expressions — challenges practitioners to go deeper than conventional training…
Read More[New Research] When Emotion Backfires on Social Media
In a world dominated by social media, emotional posts may feel like the most natural way to communicate. We post outrage, sadness, empathy, and passion—often believing these signals will persuade others to see what we see and feel what we feel. But new research entitled “Emotions on our Screens” suggests something surprising: emotional expression may…
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