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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.