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Its all in the face

50 | SEPT/OCT 2012 OH! SEPT/OCT 2012 OH! | 5

HappinessA happy face is easily detected and read

or understood. When we experience pure

happiness, our eyes twinkle involuntarily;

and the corners of our lips are drawn back and up.

The mouth may or may not be parted, with the

teeth sometimes be exposed. At the same time, our

cheeks rise when we are happy and a wrinkle runs

down from the nose to the outer edges beyond the

lips corners.

Not only that, the eyes may narrow as the cheeks

get pushed up from the mouth. With some people,

wrinkles may be observed beside the eyes.

We can spot a genuine smile by looking at the eshy

part of the eyes between the brows and the eyelids.

If it moves downwards and the ends of the eyebrows

dip slightly, the smile is real and genuine.

Conversely, happiness is also the easiest expression

to falsify and it is commonly used for social deception.

We may instinctively wave to others because people

generally respond positively to positive behaviour

However, most of us use the smile to cover up our

negative emotions such as sadness, disgust and

contempt.

When evaluating the happiness emotion, always try

to evaluate the congruency of the subjects tones and

gestures if you suspect he or she is not genuinely happy

SadnessSadness is one of the longer-lastingemotions. We feel a period of resigned

sadness when we are feeling totally

helpless. However, sadness may sometimes be

mistaken for boredom or tiredness.

When were sad, our facial features tend to slack and

sag, our lips will frequently tremble and our mouth

may be pulled down in a frown. In some cases, the

jaw may even drop and open slightly.

Besides that, our eyes will look dull and lifeless o

even moist. At the same time, the eyelids may droop

with the eyebrows pulled together and drawn up.

B D L E OW C H E E SE N

We may not beaware of it, butwe say so muchto those around

us just by thelooks we givethem. Expressinga range ofemotions can beboth a consciousand unconsciouseffort tocommunicatewith others.

Th cornrs of th mouthar pulld back in asmil whil th ys arnarrowd as th chksgt pushd up from thmouth.

He O THe He if

looks could kill? Indeed, we

communicate with far more

than words. Most of the

messages we send other

people are nonverbal.

Facial expressions form

an important aspect of

nonverbal communication.

The face is an especially

effective social tool; it helps

us express a wide range of

emotions be it happiness,sadness, surprise, anger,

fear, interest, disgust or

contempt.

By understanding how facial

expressions communicate

these simple emotions, we

can have better and more

effective communication.

Whn sad, th mouthpulls down in a frown,th ylids droop, thybrows ar pulldtogthr and th yslook southwards.

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The upper eyelids are

raised, exposing the

sclera, and the lower

eyelids are tensed and

drawn up. The mouth is

open and the lips are either

slightly tensed, and drawn back

up or stretched and drawn back.

Sometimes we may become pale.

enowned researcher Louis

Kuhne, in his book The Science of

Facial Expression, summarises the

telltale signs of a fearful expression

as a tensely pulled back open mouth,

raised eyelids and exposed whites of

the eyes.

Showing interestInterest in another person can be detected

and observed through the movement o

the head. The interest can be romantic

intellectual, spiritual or just plain friendly

Some of us would nod our heads to show agreement

In terms of facial expressions, eyes may widen and

the mouth may be opened slightly. The persons face

becomes open. The eyes are engaged, the head may

tilt and the body leans forward towards the subject.

In contrast, when you observe a person lowering his or

her eyebrows with his chin jutting out or furrowing his

forehead, it indicates there is no interest in the other

person. Some of us might also use the eyes as a tool to

express our disinterest by just looking away.

IT S AL L IN TH E FAC E

The skin below the eyebrows may become

triangulated, with the inner corner up. The upper

eyelid inner corners may be raised and the eyes may

look down.

Disgust and contemptDisgust and contempt can be observed

clearly through the positions adopted by

the mouth, nose, chin and eyes.

Contempt may be spotted as a unilateral expression,

especially as the sides of the face become uneven

with the tightening of the corners of the lips into a

crooked smile. In the business world, contempt

is very common especially when one high-yer

attempts to depose a rival.

In contrast, disgust is a dangerous emotion because

the subject feels very little compassion. At the precise

moment you feel disgusted about something, your lips

may part slightly with the upper lip pulling upwards.

The lower lip may be raised and pushed up to the upper

lip, or lowered and slightly protruding. The nose maywrinkle and are and the cheeks are raised.

The eyes may narrow, pupils may constrict and the

eyebrows may drop. The eyelid muscles are relaxed

rather than tensed. Lines may show below the lower

eyelid as the eyelid is pushed up and the brow is

lowered, thereby lowering the upper lid.

AngerAnger is the look of violence. It is one of the

most dangerous emotions because we may

often try to harm the target of our anger.

The attack may only be in the form of angry words or

In contmpt, th sids of

th fac ar unvn andth cornrs of th lipstightn into a crookdsmil.

a shout, albeit deliberately delivered, but the motive is

always the same which is to harm the target.

When a person is angry, we can observe the eyebrows

being pulled down and together and the inner corners

going down towards the nose, causing the forehead to

furrow. At the same time, the lips tighten and turn down

at the corners, or open stify as if in a frozen shout.

To be specic, the upper lid is tense and may or may

not be lowered. The eyes have a hard stare and may

have a bulging appearance. The lips will assume one

of two positions: they may either be pressed rmly

together, with the corners straight or down; or open,

tensed in a square-ish shape; as if one is shouting.

The nostrils may be dilated, but this is not essential to

reect anger as it may also be present during sadness.

For some of us, our face may turn pale because the

blood drains from the epidermis (skin).

However, there is ambiguity unless anger is registered

in all three facial areas. The effect of the anger can

be enhanced with the raising of the upper eyelids to

produce a stare.

Surprise and fearSurprise is the briefest of all the emotions,lasting for a few seconds at most. After we

have gured out what has happened to

us, the next emotion would be fear, anger, disgust,

happiness or relief depending on the scenario.

Surprise is difcult to capture because it happens

so suddenly and spontaneously without prior notice.

Fear often follows surprise, which can be extremely

Whn angry, th lipsbcom thin, prssdtogthr and strtchdtightr. Th jaw thrustsor juts forward. Th

ys may narrow andth ybrows ar pullddown closr to gthr.

brief, but it can also endure for a long time. Both

surprise and fear are closely connected and in both

expressions, the eyes widen and the mouth opens.

When you are surprised, your lips may part loosely

and your jaw may drop. At the same time, your eyes

may widen, with eyelids open wide; the upper lid is

raised and the lower lid drawn down.

Besides that, the whites of the eyes the sclera show

the iris, and often the area of the eye below that as

well. The pupils may dilate; and the eyebrows may rise

directly upwards so that they are curved and arched

slightly. The skin below the brow is stretched and

horizontal wrinkles may appear across the forehead.

However, we can identify the sensation of fear when

our lips stretch outwards towards the ears, the jaw

tucks back in towards the throat, the eyes widen and

the lower eyelids become tense and eyebrows pull up

and together. The wrinkles in the forehead are in the

centre, not across the entire forehead.

urpris followdby happinss. It

happns whn yourciv unxpctd

good nws.

In surpris, ybrowsgo up, y widn and thmouth opns briy.

I lov it and I am intr

Interest inanother personcan be detectedand observedthrough themovement ofthe head.